Warwickshire hand three-year contract to Che Simmons

Barbados-born Simmons, who was recommended to Warwickshire by former West Indies allrounder and coach, Ottis Gibson, joined the club's academy last year

Warwickshire have signed Barbadian-born fast bowler Che Simmons on a three-year deal.

Simmons, who was recommended to Warwickshire by former West Indies allrounder and coach, Ottis Gibson, joined the club's academy last year. But, on the strength of some impressive performances on pre-season tour and in early games this summer, the 18-year-old has been promoted to a professional contract.

Simmons first came to prominence when claiming all wickets in an innings while playing for the Franklyn Stephenson Academy. His final figures – 10 for 16 from 5.3 overs – included only two runs off the bat. He has previously represented Barbados U15.

He joins Jacob Bethell as a young Barbados-born talent on the Warwickshire staff. Both young men hold UK passports. And while there will be great satisfaction at securing their services at Warwickshire, there maybe some disquiet in the Caribbean at the loss of more young talent to England. Both Bethell and Simmons have the potential to play at the highest level with Simmons due to qualify on residency in 2024.

"Che was recommended to me by Ottis Gibson around 18 months ago," Paul Farbrace, director of cricket at Warwickshire, said. "He subsequently trialled and we were very impressed by his potential. He's gone on to work incredibly hard with our coaches and we think that he could have a very long and successful career with Warwickshire and potentially England."

^{Simmons joins Jacob Bethell as a Barbados-born youngster on Warwickshire's professional books (James Chance/Getty Images)}

"Che has made an incredible transformation over the winter," said Warwickshire high-performance manager Paul Greetham. "It's a challenge for any young sports man or women to come into a new culture and to understand the step up to a high-performance environment. But with the support of many good people around him, Che has shone.

"He has quickly adapted to the strength and conditioning requirements of an elite athlete, but our academy tour of Sri Lanka in February was a turning point where he stood out as a senior member of the team. He bowled hostile spells and had significantly enhanced his batting, fielding and leadership skills."

^{Image credit: Karl Newton, Warwickshire CCC}