Paceman Henry Brookes joins Middlesex from Warwickshire on three-year contract

"Middlesex Cricket (MC) is today delighted to announce that young right-arm quick, Henry Brookes, will join the Club in January 2024 from Warwickshire," Middlesex Cricket said in a statement.

Brookes, 24, made his professional debut for Warwickshire in 2017 against Essex in the County Championship at the age of just 18. His breakthrough summer came the following year, when 21 wickets in five first-class games helped Warwickshire win the Division Two title and secure promotion back to the top-flight of the Championship. That summer he also made 12 appearances for Warwickshire across the two white-ball competitions, picking up a further 22 wickets, and was clocked bowling at over 90 mph.

He joins Middlesex on a three-year contract, having made 31 First-Class appearances for Warwickshire, taking an impressive 80 wickets, and has made 60 white-ball appearances, taking 77 wickets across the two formats.

In 2022, he earned a call-up to the Hundred, with Birmingham Phoenix, and became only the third bowler in the competition's history to take a five-wicket haul, when returning figures of 5 for 25 against Southern Brave.

"We are thrilled to have secured the signature of Henry for Middlesex - someone that we have been keeping a close eye on for some time now. He is a player that has huge amounts of genuine talent, can bowl with real pace and aggression, and is someone that we believe will add a completely different dimension to our attack," Alan Coleman, the Club's Director of Cricket said of Brookes to Middlesex's pace bowling unit, according to MC.

"He has shown across both red and white ball formats that he can take wickets and cause batsmen problems, and we can't wait to start working with him. He is still young and has huge potential to develop into one of the best bowlers in the country, and we're delighted that he'll be doing so in a Middlesex shirt," he added.

"The challenges we face financially dictate that we are having to make some really difficult decisions for the long-term good of the Club. Making these calls however, which positively impact on our financial position, can give us the opportunity where appropriate to invest in our playing squad to ensure we can deliver against our ultimate objective of being a competitive cricket team in all formats," Andrew Cornish, Middlesex's Chief Executive Officer, said.

"The signing of Henry Brookes is a great example of this, and I'm sure our members will be as excited as we are to see him representing the Club from 2024 onwards," Cornish added.

"I'm thrilled to be joining Middlesex. This is a hugely exciting moment in my career and I can't wait to get started. I'm looking forward to joining up with my new teammates and I'm going to give my all to help get the club back into Division One and achieve white-ball success," Henry Brookes said. (ANI)