Howell heading to Bangladesh Premier League after signing new Glos contract
5 October 2016
Gloucestershire allrounder Benny Howell has signed a new three year contract with the club ahead of taking part in in the 2016 Bangladesh Premier League (BPL).
Benny who turned 28 on Wednesday - was the top wicket taker in this year’s NatWest T20 Blast - will join up with Khulna Titans in November after agreeing to stay at the Brightside Ground until the end of 2019.
Benny said: “I am delighted to have signed a new contract here.
“I love playing with this group of players and I believe we can win more trophies together.”
He added: “I enjoy working with the coaches here, I love living in Bristol and it is exciting to see the way the club is going. Over the last few years the ground has been redeveloped, we’ve installed floodlights and hosted international cricket. It shows we are a club on the up and I want to be a part of that.”
Renowned for his skilful variations and clever changes of pace Benny took 24 wickets – two more than any other bowler in the country - in the 2016 NatWest Blast as Gloucestershire finished top of the South Group.
His allround performances in the competition saw him finish as the second highest Englishman (and fourth highest overall) in the Professional Cricketer’s Association (PCA) Most Valuable Player (MVP) rankings.
His form this summer convinced Khulna Titans to make Benny one of 31 overseas players to be signed by BPL sides ahead of the draft.
The former Hampshire man will line up alongside the likes of West Indian Lendl Simmons and Pakistani paceman Junaid Khan for the Titans. His opponents will include the likes of Chris Gayle, Shahid Afridi and Mahela Jayawardene.
Benny said: “It is a massive opportunity for me. It is a league on the up and I hope the experience can help me push on to the next level and bring me closer to achieving my dream of playing for England.
“It is going to be very different to playing here but I am just going to try and enjoy it and try to learn as much as I can from playing with and against some of the best T20 players in the world.”
Benny originally joined Gloucestershire at the end of the 2012 season and was a key part of the club’s historic Royal London One-Day Cup winning team in 2015, averaging 42.8 with the bat and taking 15 wickets during that campaign.
In total he has scored more 4300 runs and taken 199 wickets across all formats.
Head coach Richard Dawson said: “It’s great to have Benny Howell commit his future to the club. He has been a key performer in T20 and One-Day cricket and it was a great achievement to finish as the top wicket taker in this year’s NatWest T20 Blast this summer. I hope he will continue to develop in red ball cricket as well.”
