Malcolm to leave Northamptonshire

The former England pace bowler, Devon Malcolm, will part company with Northamptonshire at the end of the season by mutual consent.

The former England pace bowler, Devon Malcolm, will part company with Northamptonshire at the end of the season by mutual consent.

The 37-year-old, who arrived at Wantage Road from Derbyshire on a three-year contract in 1998, has been out of the first team reckoning since July.

"Devon is at the end of his contract and he understands that we need to give opportunities to other bowlers on the staff to find out if they are good enough," said the club's director of cricket, Bob Carter.

"Everyone knows what a great servant to the game Devon has been, and it may well be that he'll want to remain in it. We are giving him the chance to look at his various options at a slightly earlier stage.

"But the club will retain a call on his services through to the end of the season, in case we run into problems with injuries."

Malcolm claimed 119 wickets in 36 matches since making his move to Northamptonshire, and has 912 victims in all first-class cricket.

Malcolm said: "I haven't been playing recently which was frustrating, and we agreed it would be the best thing for us to leave it at that.

"I would still like to carry on playing for someone, and there has already been interest from other counties."