It’s exciting news for left-arm Central Stags paceman RAY TOOLE who has earned his first County contract — joining the Essex Eagles squad as an overseas pro for the remainder of their Royal London Cup one-day campaign in the UK summer, starting this Sunday 11am UK time against Glamorgan at The Cloud County Ground.

Said Toole, “I’ve been training with the team at Chelmsford for a few weeks so I’m familiar with the lads and they’ve been really welcoming to me.

“With 4 games left in the competition, I’ll be hoping to hit the ground running so we can finish the Royal London Cup campaign strongly, and if we do that, you never know what could happen."

Toole, 24, has been wintering in the Essex Premier League, taking bags for Belhus CC and enjoying the experience of UK club cricket between the New Zealand seasons.

After having been invited to train with the Essex squad, he now joins fellow Central Stag WILL YOUNG on the County one-day circuit — while Young is off to a flier in his first few matches captaining the Northamptonshire one-day team.

WILL YOUNG | PHOTOSPORT

Essex and Northamptonshire are both in the Group B pool of the Royal London Cup and are currently mid-table, Northamptonshire with two wins from four matches and Essex one from four, with four rounds to go to make playoffs.

Toole has 10 List A one-day matches under his belt for the Stags, having taken seven wickets for a best of 2-31 in his limited opportunities to date.

His standout red-ball 2021/22 summer meanwhile saw him race to his 50th first-class wicket for the Stags from just 17 Plunket Shield matches, claiming his maiden first-class bag of 6-54 in Napier against Northern Districts in March.

PHOTOSPORT

Toole is poised to become the second Central Stags player to represent the Essex Eagles after Jesse Ryder, and is the 10th New Zealand overseas player to be signed by the county overall in recent decades.

Meanwhile Stags spinner AJAZ PATEL is gearing up to make his Glamorgan debut in the first-class County Championship in September, ahead of the New Zealand season that starts with the free admission Plunket Shield at Saxton Oval on Tuesday, 18 October against Canterbury.

Players will rejoin the Stags for preseason training following the conclusion of their County stints.

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Article added: Sunday 14 August 2022