Kiwi all-rounder Elliott joins Warwickshire

LONDON: New Zealand all-rounder Grant Elliott has agreed to play for Warwickshire during their Twenty20 Blast campaign later this year.

Elliott will be registered as a non-overseas player under the ‘Kolpak’ ruling and is reported to be ready to call time on a nine-year international career which has brought him 104 caps for the Kiwis across various formats.

The 38-year-old’s spell with Warwickshire, whose Twenty20 team are called the ‘Birmingham Bears’ will be his third in English cricket following stints with Surrey and Leicestershire.

“I’m very excited to have signed for Birmingham Bears to play in the T20 Blast,” Elliott said on Thursday.

“Edgbaston is a fantastic place to play cricket, and I’m really looking forward to taking to the field as a proud Bear and hope to contribute to more success for the club in 2017.”

Johannesburg-born Elliott has already retired from One-day Internationals and has not played for New Zealand since their defeat by England in the World T20 semi-final 12 months ago.

He helped New Zealand reach the 50-over World Cup final two years ago and remains a highly-regarded T20 specialist, playing recently for Lahore Qalanders in the Pakistan Super League.