Ed Pollock: Warwickshire batsman rejoins Worcestershire to play all three formats

Ed Pollock only played white-ball cricket for the Bears

Worcestershire have signed Warwickshire batsman Ed Pollock on a two-year deal.

The 26-year-old opening batsman, who is from Worcestershire, will leave Edgbaston at the end of the season.

Although he has played all his cricket for Warwickshire in one-day matches and the Birmingham Bears in the T20 Blast, he has signed a deal with the Pears to play in all three forms of the game.

"Ed leaves with the best wishes of everyone here at Edgbaston," said Bears director of cricket Paul Farbrace.

"He's an excellent man and has been a great professional throughout his time here as a Bear."

Pollock, who began his career as a junior at New Road, will be the first Bears player to make the move directly from Edgbaston to Worcester since Moeen Ali in 2007.

Worcestershire now have an opening at the top of the order in their County Championship side following Daryl Mitchell's decision to retire.

"This is a fantastic opportunity for him to push for a place in all three formats at Worcestershire," added Farbrace. "Given that he hasn't always been able to establish himself in the T20 side and is yet to play in the Championship team, it's a great move for him to make at this stage of his career."

"He will play all formats," confirmed Worcestershire cricket steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon, the former Pears fast bowler, who coached him at Shrewsbury School.

Ed Pollock blasted 121 in his four T20 Blast knocks for the Bears against Worcestershire

"He is a dangerous white-ball cricketer. We need a power player at the top of the order. A point worth making is that in every white-ball game we've lost this year, we have failed to hit as many fours and sixes as the opposition. This is a way of addressing it."

Pollock, who is from Bromsgrove, came through the ranks at age group levels for Worcestershire, and played club cricket for Barnt Green, where he played alongside England internationals Tom Banton and Dougie Brown (his first coach with Warwickshire), as well as playing Minor Counties cricket for Herefordshire.

The only first-class cricket he has played was five games for Durham University, but he has hit 599 runs in 25 List A matches for the Bears at an average of 27.22, including his first One-Day Cup century against Derbyshire earlier this summer.

He has also made 969 runs in 46 T20 Blast matches at an average of 21.53, including six fifties, the most recent of them against Worcestershire at New Road when he plundered 53 off 35 balls.

He was signed by the Manchester Originals for the men's Hundred in October 2019, but lost his place when teams reshuffled their squads following the post-Covid retention scheme.

"I've had some great times and leave with fond memories," said Pollock.

"Some notable thanks go to Dougie Brown and Paul Greetham for first getting me to Warwickshire and to the coaches, in particular Tony Frost and Ian Westwood, for their countless hours of coaching and support.

"Also the supporters who made every match a special occasion. But now is the right time for a new opportunity with Worcestershire.

"It really is exciting for me to go full circle. It feels like a good time to come back to Worcestershire."