Warwickshire have signed left-arm wrist-spinner Jake Lintott, who has halted his teaching career to join the Bears on a three-year contract.
The 27-year-old former Minor Counties player, head of cricket at Queen’s College, Taunton, has moved on a more permanent basis after joining the Bears on a short-term T20 Blast deal in 2020.
He played one T20 game for Hampshire in 2017, then three for Gloucestershire.
Prior to that, he had played Minor Counties for both Dorset and Wiltshire.
“It’s been a long-time coming but it’s an amazing feeling to secure my first full contract in the professional game,” said Lintott.
“To join such a big county with the traditions of Warwickshire and to make Edgbaston my home ground for the foreseeable future is something that I have always aspired to.
“There have been a lot of people who have helped me along the way, but I must particularly express my thanks to everyone at Queen’s College in Taunton, who have been fantastic in allowing me to continue chasing my dream of a career in the professional game, whilst also leading its cricket programme.”
The unorthodox slow left-armer will add to the Bears’ spin options in trying to fill the hole left by the retirement of captain Jeetan Patel.
Patel ended his playing career at the age of 40 last summer to become England’s spin bowling coach.
Lintott will be competing for a place along with fellow slow left-armer Danny Briggs and off-spinner Alex Thomson.
“Jake made a fantastic impression in 2020,” said Warwickshire director of cricket Paul Farbrace.
“His economy rate of 6.3 in the T20 Blast was the best within our squad and one of the best rates of all bowlers in the tournament. He also boasted the second-best bowling average in the Blast from the Bears bowling ranks.
“Slow left-arm unorthodox bowlers are not easy to discover. Jake provides another dimension to our spin bowling attack, alongside Alex Thomson and the slow left-arm orthodox of Danny Briggs.”
