Will Williams signs a long-term deal with Lancashire as non-overseas player

The Canterbury pacer Will Williams has signed a long-term contract with the Lancashire County Cricket Club. 

Last month, Williams joined the Red Roses on a short-term deal. However, he has used his British passport to register as a local player and will be part of the team until the end of the 2025 season. 

The talented seamer returned with figures of 2/42 and 4/70 in his first outing for Lancashire in the ongoing County Championship against Warwickshire. In the next game, he took a single wicket. 

Williams has been one of the finest exponents of swing bowling in New Zealand domestic cricket, especially in the last few years. 

In the 2021/22 edition of the Plunkett Shield, the 29-year-old scalped 25 wickets in eight matches at 21.52 while registering the best match figures of 6/75. His performances helped the team to finish in the second spot in the points table. 

Williams picked up 116 wickets in 41 first-class matches for Canterbury. On the other hand, he has 51 wickets and 30 wickets in the List A and T20s, respectively. His best-ever figures of 5/12 in the shortest format came in 2020, including a hat-trick. 

The 29-year-old was pleased to accept a long-term contract from Lancashire. 

"I have really enjoyed my short time with Lancashire so far, and I am so pleased to have been given the opportunity to stay here on a longer-term basis," said Williams. 

Mark Chilton, Director of Cricket, has reckoned that the impressive performances from Williams in his first two appearances have helped him secure a long-term contract. 

"Due to injuries and international selection, we required a seamer at short notice for last month’s County Championship matches and following Will’s performances in those matches, and through conversations with him since, we have taken the decision to turn his short-term overseas contract into a local player contract,” said director of cricket, Mark Chilton.