Leicestershire CCC is delighted to announce the return of Ben Mike on a three-year contract. The Academy graduate will rejoin the Foxes after reaching an agreement with Yorkshire to sanction an early release from his deal at Headingley.

Mike made 86 appearances across five seasons during his first spell at Uptonsteel County Ground, before departing for the White Rose at the end of the 2022 campaign. He featured on 18 occasions for Yorkshire, although only two appearances came in the County Championship, with the desire to play more red-ball cricket cited as the main reason behind Mike’s desire to return home to Leicestershire.

After signing his first professional deal in August 2018, the all-rounder made an instant impact on debut at Sussex the following month, claiming his career-best match figures of 9/94, before ending the campaign with 19 wickets at 20.26 from four matches.

Mike went on to establish himself as an integral component of the side across all formats, registering 78 first-class wickets at 36.68 apiece, while amassing 1,178 runs at an average of 23.56.

The 25-year-old has also developed a reputation as both an effectual strike bowler and a big-hitter at the death in T20 cricket, taking 43 wickets at 26.76 and scoring 567 runs striking at just under 150.

Discussing his decision to return to the Club, Mike said: “I’m very thankful for my time at Yorkshire. I had some honest conversations with the management and whilst they wanted me to stay, it just felt right for my career to make the move back. It’s a really exciting time to be at Leicestershire, as we saw at the end of last season with the achievements the Club made. It was great to see close friends do so well, and my aim is to help add to that in the seasons ahead."

“I think I’ll really thrive under Alfonso [Thomas]. I spent a short time with him in 2022, but I’m looking forward to linking back up with him. Naturally I’m very excited to work with James Taylor too. His addition last year was a massive boost, and the guys I’ve spoken to couldn’t speak highly enough of him. I’ve learned a lot in my year away. I want to provide exciting moments and be a match-winner, but now is time for me to step up and put those performances in more consistently.”

Director of Cricket, Claude Henderson, said: “We’re delighted to share the fantastic news that Ben is coming back to Leicestershire."

“He brings an x-factor with both bat and ball in all three formats, which makes our squad really exciting for the coming seasons. He’s the final jigsaw piece in our puzzle.”

Mike is the third new arrival at Uptonsteel County Ground this winter, following the arrivals of Ben Cox and Liam Trevaskis.