Picture by Matt Lewis/Getty Images. Em Arlott is coming to Yorkshire soon.
Rich Pyrah says incoming all-rounder Em Arlott is a “great signing” for Yorkshire.
England star Arlott has signed a three-year contract at Headingley ahead of 2027, joining from Warwickshire, where she has been part of their system since 2020.
Arlott, 28, will link up with England team-mate Sarah Glenn as the White Rose look to kick on from what has been an encouraging first taste of Tier 1 cricket this season.
Yorkshire actually play Warwickshire at Edgbaston on Wednesday as county cricket returns following The Hundred. It is unclear whether or not Arlott will feature for the Bears against her new county.
This is the first six remaining games for Yorkshire in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup, who have so far won three of 10 matches and are second-bottom in the table. Warwickshire are fifth with five wins from 11 and are within striking distance of the top three knockout qualifying positions.
White Rose head coach Pyrah said: “Em is a great signing for us.
“We’ve just lacked that bit of seniority in our seam attack, and she brings a different dimension to it.
“She’s tall, she’s quick, and she’s got the experience and a very good record behind her. But we’re also bringing in a middle order batter who is destructive and can score runs.
“It’s like signing two players, really.
Picture by Alex Broadway/Getty Images. Em Arlott has just completed Hundred duties with Welsh Fire.
“She’ll slot into our middle order, and she’s proven over the last couple of years that she can score match-winning runs as well. I’m absolutely delighted with that signing.
“Whoever we bring in, the aim is to strengthen the squad dramatically, and I think that’s what we’ve done.”
Added to Arlott’s signing, Yorkshire have also recently made wicketkeeper-batter Alice Clarke’s move from Lancashire a permanent one from the end of this season. She will remain on loan from the Red Rose until then.
“We’ve kept an eye on Alice for a number of years now,” said Pyrah. “We’ve seen her a lot whilst playing for Lancashire against us in pre-season friendlies and second-team matches.
“She’s a left-handed batter, which is quite rare in the women’s game.
“The thing which has impressed us the most is her character. She’s a good, solid professional.
“Now that she’s going to be playing regular first-team cricket, hopefully she can kick on. That’s another very good signing for us.”
On Clarke’s character and development, Pyrah added: “Speaking to Alice is like speaking to a player who has been playing for 10 years. It’s just that she obviously hasn’t got that game time behind her.
“We see a very good cricketer there, and that’s why we’re investing time in her.”
Picture by Alex Whitehead/SWPix.com. Alice Clarke has been on loan with Yorkshire for the last couple of months and will remain at Headingley beyond the end of next month.
Yorkshire’s general manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton has also been speaking about the signing of Arlott.
“That’s been a bit of a project, as you can imagine,” he said. “You don’t just get players of that quality in overnight.
“Myself and Rich made it very clear that we don’t want to just make massive bulk changes. We want to do things really in our own time.
“We obviously want to work very closely with our pathway and bring them through.
“We will continue to nurture those, as we have been doing.
“But getting someone like Em, who you can heavily rely on for runs and wickets and to aid the development of our own is huge for us.
“And I think it’s quite a big statement of how we’re going about our women’s cricket programme here. We know the timescales, we’re not moving from that. By the end of 2027, we’ll be where we want to be.
“Em is a big stepping stone towards that.”
