Record breaker Kyle Abbott signs new Hampshire contract

The county last night announced the South African fast bowler has signed a new contract which will keep him at the Ageas Bowl until at least the end of 2022.

Abbott has put pen-to-paper on a new three-year deal after a record-breaking 2019 campaign in which he has claimed more than 110 wickets in both red and white-ball cricket.

They included a 17-86 haul against Somerset last week - Hampshire’s best ever first class bowling match figures and the fourth best in Championship history.

The 32-year-old said: ‘I’m delighted to have signed a new three-year contract with Hampshire.

‘We have a great bunch of players and coaching staff all striving to achieve success for the club and I look forward to contributing to winning trophies in the coming years.

‘I’d like to thank Rod (Bransgrove) and Giles (White) for giving me the opportunity to sign a new contract and all the supporters at the Ageas Bowl who have made me feel so welcome over the last three years.’

White, Hampshire’s Director of Cricket, added: ‘I can’t speak highly enough of Kyle. He has once again shown what a valuable asset he is to the team.

‘He continually puts in match-winning contributions; he is a great role model for the younger players and he shows a great passion for playing for the club.

‘For all these reasons we are delighted he will be with us for the long-term.”

Abbott, who rejoined Hampshire ahead of the 2017 season after featuring as an overseas player in 2014, has claimed 293 wickets for the county at an average of just 21.43 across all formats.

The right-armer’s consistency in that time has been remarkable, particularly in red-ball cricket, where he’s claimed 183 first-class wickets at just 18.78 apiece including a return of more than 50 wickets in each of the last three Championship campaigns.

Alongside his red-ball success, Abbott has also been a prominent feature of Hampshire’s white-ball attack across the last three seasons.

His 17 wickets in the 2017 edition of the T20 Blast helped secure a seventh Finals Day appearances in eight years, whilst he topped the club’s wicket-taker list in this year’s tournament, taking 20 scalps at an average of 17.80.

Although an ankle injury prevented him from playing a part in Hampshire’s 2018 Royal London One-Day Cup triumph, Abbott was vital to sealing a second successive final appearance at Lord’s this summer - his 20 wickets was the fourth highest return of any player in the competition.