Stoneman will now join hands with Mark Di Venuto, his former Durham teammate and the current head coach of Surrey. His decision to switch to Surrey follows an offer of a new two-year deal by Durham.
Stoneman led Durham to the Royal London One-Day Cup title two years ago and was one of the names discussed by the national selectors to partner Alastair Cook in Tests.
"It is a fantastic opportunity to join a young and exciting squad," Stoneman said. "I am very excited for the years ahead at the Kia Oval which is a great Test Match venue and I hope my experience can contribute to a period of success for Surrey.
"The desire to play for England is as strong as it has ever been and I feel that now is the right time to accept a new challenge in an environment which will hopefully see me fulfill the dream of playing for England."
Alec Stewart, the Surrey Director of Cricket, was understandably pleased with the new signing. "I am very pleased Mark has signed for Surrey as I was aware a number of other counties were chasing him too," he said. "He is exactly the type of character and player I feel will add strength and depth to our squad.
"Our Head Coach Michael Di Venuto knows Mark very well from his own playing days at Durham and that was a major factor in Mark choosing the Kia Oval."
Durham is set to lose a number of players as Scott Borthwick will also be without a contract after the season. They've already allowed Phil Mustard, the wicketkeeper-batsman, to leave. He's set to join Gloucestershire on loan till the end of this season. Mustard will replace the injured Gareth Roderick, who underwent a finger surgery and will be out of action for more than a month.
But not all is doom and gloom for the cash-strapped Durham as former England international Paul Collingwood has agreed to play for one more year.
"I am so proud to still be playing for my home County who have given me the perfect environment to fulfill all of my cricketing dreams," Collingwood said. "I feel that I can continue to contribute to the team and I really want to help develop the next generation of Durham cricketers.
"I know that this club still has so much to offer English cricket and I continue to be excited by the young talent coming through the ranks.
No comments:
Post a Comment