Warwickshire County Cricket Club has signed Sussex wicket-keeper batsman Michael Burgess on a two-year contract, with a loan agreement in place to allow the 24-year-old to make a prompt move to Edgbaston from 1 June.
Burgess has made 28 First Class, 16 T20, and 18 List A appearances to date and has 47 dismissals across all formats. With the bat, he has scored 1,440 runs at an average of 38.91 in the First Class game with two centuries, whilst he also played a key role for Sussex in their road to the final of last year’s Vitality Blast, scoring 160 runs in the middle order at average of 22.85 and a strike rate of 128.
In addition to being an excellent, young gloveman, Michael is a hard-hitting batsman who has experienced domestic cricket on the biggest stage.
Paul Farbrace
Paul Farbrace, Sport Director at Warwickshire CCC, said: “In addition to being an excellent, young gloveman, Michael is a hard-hitting batsman who has experienced domestic cricket on the biggest stage, having played for Sussex in last year’s Vitality Blast Finals Day.
“He boasts a very impressive strike rate in the T20 game and his ability to clear the ropes could be game-changing. He is a great addition to bolster our middle order going into this year’s Vitality Blast.
“Whilst we still have one of the best wicket-keepers in the country in Tim Ambrose, we believe that Michael can make an immediate impact in the white ball game and, aged only 24, we have every confidence that he can enjoy a long and very successful career as a Bear.”
Burgess made his First Class debut for Loughborough University in 2014 before joining Sussex as a triallist in 2017 and signing his first professional contract later that summer.
Michael Burgess said: “It’s a huge opportunity for me to become a Bear and to come to Edgbaston to play at one of the world’s great grounds.
“There’s so much history behind this club, but it’s also tasted a lot of success in the last few years by winning every major trophy. The Warwickshire Cricket Management Team were very clear with me about their ambitions to build a squad that can compete for more silverware and I’m very excited to have committed until at least the end of 2021.
“I would like to thank everyone at Sussex, including, the players, coaches and members for their great support over the last couple of years and I wish them all the very best for the future.”
