Jake Libby: Worcestershire sign Nottinghamshire batsman on three-year deal

Jake Libby began his career in his native Cornwall before joining Notts as a 21-year-old

Worcestershire have signed Nottinghamshire batsman Jake Libby on a three-year contract.

Libby, 26, leaves by mutual consent after five years with Notts, for whom he played 75 times in all formats.

After becoming the first man to hit a century on his Notts Championship debut for 68 years in 2014, he made five tons in his 2,574 runs from 55 games.

He is Worcestershire's second signing in 24 hours after Australian limited-overs international Ashton Turner.

Libby helped Notts get to T20 Blast Finals Day but was then left out of the side beaten by Worcestershire in the semi-final.

"Jake spoke to other counties," said Worcestershire cricket steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon. "But he made it clear that he was keen to come here,

"He will strengthen us in Championship and white ball cricket. At 26, hopefully he has his best years ahead of him and he is hungry to make a big impression."

Notts head coach Peter Moores said: "With Jake having expressed a desire to join Worcestershire, we have agreed for him to leave and wish him all the best with the next chapter.

"It creates a place in the squad for another top-order batsman, to which we'll look to recruit with red-ball cricket primarily in mind."

"After five years with Notts, I feel the time is right to move into a new phase of my career and take on a fresh challenge," said Libby.

"Working with the coaching staff and alongside the calibre of batsmen at Notts has definitely allowed me to progress and mature as a cricketer. I've also relished the chances in the past couple of seasons to develop my limited-overs game."