Worcestershire are delighted to announce the signing of all-rounder Ben Allison from Essex on a three-year contract and he is looking forward to “an exciting new chapter in my career” at Visit Worcestershire New Road.
The 24-year-old, who has already enjoyed two successful loan spells with Worcestershire, has put pen to paper from next summer until the end of the 2027 season.
Allison has been involved with Essex since the age of eight but sees this as a golden opportunity to kick on and play more first-team cricket.
To date, he has played 14 First Class, 20 List A, and 25 T20s.
Last summer, Allison linked up with Worcestershire for the season finale and, during a three-game spell, helped them seal promotion back to Division One of the County Championship.
He hit his career-best score of 75 against Yorkshire at Headingley when sufficient batting bonus points were secured to return to the top flight.
Allison returned to New Road during the current campaign for two Championship matches and had match bowling figures of 24.1-4-87-5 in the vital win over Durham at the Seat Unique Riverside with his victims, including England Test captain Ben Stokes.
He said: “This is an exciting new chapter in my career. I’m 24 and I’m looking to kick on with my career and play a major role for Worcestershire during the next three years, and hopefully beyond.
“I’ll always have fond memories of Essex after being involved in them from such a young age. They’ve been a huge part of my life, but I’m hoping to play more first-team cricket with Worcestershire.
“I’m really hungry to do that, and it’s a great opportunity.
“I really enjoyed my time at New Road last summer and playing a part in the final few games, helping the team get over the line and clinching promotion to Division One in the County Championship.
“I had no hesitation in coming back this summer for another spell and the win at Durham in the Championship was massive in terms of the fight to stay in the top division and hopefully the lads can achieve that in the final part of the season.
“It’s a tremendous dressing room in terms of making you feel welcome and enabling someone new to slot in and that togetherness can only help a team in achieving its goals.”
Worcestershire Head Coach, Alan Richardson, is delighted for the club to have acquired Allison’s services on a permanent basis.
He said: “Ben is someone who I have kept an eye on for a little while. I remember him playing against us for Essex pre-Covid and being quite impressed by him.
“He has not been playing that much cricket, and when we had that opportunity to take him on loan last year, he came in and gave us a nice bit of impetus along with Logan (van Beek) to help us get promoted.
He fitted in really well and certainly added on and off the field and then this season came in and played two difficult games for us this year, Surrey at home and Durham away, and showed what a good prospect he is.
“The spells he certainly bowled at Durham were high class. He got some important wickets for us, including Ben Stokes in the first innings.
“An opportunity now for us to sign him more permanently is really exciting for us, and like Matthew Waite and Ethan Brookes, it’s exciting to see what can be achieved by playing regular cricket.
“He is desperate to play, so hopefully, with us, that opportunity will change a little bit. He will be within our squad of bowlers but with a real opportunity to play.
“He is a really brave cricketer and has a real team ethic about him as well and for us, we are getting someone who is potentially a really good three dimensional cricketer.
“His batting has a lot of potential. At the moment he is batting anywhere between eight and 10 and that will only get better. He has scored some first class fifties and shaped up really nicely for us last year.
“His fielding is high class both in the outfield and also slip catching so he is going to add a lot to us.”
