Dane Vilas declares Lancashire departure
Dane Vilas, the previous South Africa wicketkeeper, will depart Lancashire on the finish of the season after a seven-year spell within the county sport.
Vilas, 38, is ready to wind down his first-class profession, which started in 2006 and noticed him capped six instances in Tests, though he’s anticipated to play within the 2023-24 SA20. He joined Lancashire as a Kolpak participant in 2017 and captained the membership for greater than 4 seasons, main them to T20 Finals Day thrice and the Championship runners-up spot in 2021 and 2022.
He relinquished the captaincy earlier this 12 months however has averaged 16.83 within the Championship and solely performed 5 instances within the Blast, as Lancashire introduced in Daryl Mitchell and Colin de Grandhomme so as to add to their abroad choices.
Overall, Vilas has scored 4277 runs at 38.88 in 85 first-class appearances for Lancashire, which included a career-best 266 at Colwyn Bay because the membership gained promotion from Division Two in 2019. In T20 cricket, he made 1494 runs at a strike charge of 136.43, whereas in List A he presently averages 53.48 with 4 lots of.
“It has been an extremely difficult decision to call time on my county cricket career and one that I have thought long and hard about,” Vilas stated. “However, I feel that the end of this season is the right time for me and for my family.
“I’ve loved a improbable profession, from making my first-class debut for Gauteng in 2006, to the honour and satisfaction of enjoying Test match cricket for South Africa, earlier than shifting to the UK in 2017 to tackle a brand new problem and making Emirates Old Trafford my dwelling for the final seven seasons.
“It was one of the greatest honours of my career to be named captain of the Red Rose, to lead a brilliant group of players for four seasons and to represent our Members and supporters – who have all been amazing to me, and my family, throughout my time at the Club.
“I wish to thank everyone who has been on this journey with me not solely at Lancashire but in addition for the final 17 years, from my household and mates to all the gamers and coaches who I’ve shared a dressing room with.”