Garry Park released by Derbyshire

By Andy Wilson

All-rounder Garry Park has left Derbyshire after being told he would not be offered a new contract at the end of the current season.

The South Africa-born player was in his fourth season at the County Ground after joining from Durham at the end of the 2008 campaign. Though he quickly established himself as a first team regular in all forms of the game in his first year with Derbyshire, he has become increasingly peripheral since.

The 29-year-old, a gritty right-hander with the bat, useful medium-pace seamer and dynamic fielder, made his first-class debut with Cambridge UCCE in 2003 and first played for Durham two years later.

Park was a hero for Durham in the final County Championship match of the 2006 season when a maiden unbeaten century against Yorkshire made sure they avoided relegation – they went on to win the title two years later – but he was never a regular at the Riverside and he left for the chance of more frequent first team cricket with Derbyshire.

A reliable performer in his first season at Derby, Park passed 1,000 first-class runs with two centuries and eight other scores of 50 or more, but that was to remain the peak of his time with Derbyshire.

He was offered a one-year extension to his contract this season, mainly so he could play a role in developing the youngsters in the second team, and has made nine limited-overs appearances for the first team.

The last of those was on Sunday in the Clydesdale Bank 40 at Chesterfield, when he was out for a first-ball duck and took 1 for 5 in one over against a Unicorns side that included his younger brother, Craig.
 


Date: 18/07/2012 06:30:00 by Andy Wilson
In: Today | Derbyshire |