Essex sign experienced T20 run-scorer Laurie Evans from Surrey
Essex have signed batter Laurie Evans from Surrey on a one-year deal, BBC Sport reported on 22 October. The 39-year-old has agreed a white-ball contract, which covers the limited-overs formats of T20 and one-day cricket. The deal also includes an option to play in the County Championship, England's longer domestic competition, which is played over several days.
Evans is best known as a T20 batter. In 382 T20 appearances he has scored almost 8,000 runs at a strike-rate of just under 140. Strike-rate is the number of runs a batter scores per 100 balls faced, so that figure means he has scored close to 140 for every 100 balls. He has made 44 half-centuries and three hundreds, with a highest score of 118 not out.
His career has taken him around the world. He made his T20 debut for Surrey in 2009, and he has also played for Warwickshire and Sussex in England. Overseas, he has turned out for franchise sides including the Perth Scorchers in Australia, the Barbados Royals in the Caribbean and the Multan Sultans in Pakistan.
Essex and Surrey have met many times in England's domestic T20 competition, the Vitality Blast. In 2020, Evans scored an unbeaten 88 for Surrey as they beat Essex by four wickets. ESPNcricinfo's match report records Surrey's total as 198 for 6, against Essex's 195 for 8. Six years later, ESPNcricinfo reported that he brought up his 40th T20 fifty for Surrey in a match against Essex at Chelmsford, the club's home ground.
For Essex, the signing adds a batter with a long record in the shortest format. Chris Silverwood is the club's director of cricket, the role that oversees its cricket. The one-year length keeps the commitment short, and the County Championship option would only come into play if Essex decide to use it.
For supporters, the story is simple. An experienced T20 batter who has spent years in the franchise game is heading to Chelmsford on a one-year deal. How much he plays in each format will become clear as the next season takes shape.
