A trophy-winning quick desperate to have a blast at Headingley
Matt Milnes heads back North from Kent, the fast bowler joining Yorkshire on a three-year contract ahead of 2023. Headingley will be Milnes’ third county having also previously played for home club Nottinghamshire, who he first represented in age-group cricket.
A self confessed “impact bowler” – a wicket-taker with extra pace – he has previously worked under the coaching of South Africa legend Allan Donald, an assistant at Canterbury. The chance to now work with Ottis Gibson was a significant part of his decision to commit to Yorkshire.
Milnes, whose first Headingley winter was spent rehabbing from a back stress fracture, was somewhat of a late starter in terms of first-team cricket. While he made his first-class debut for Durham University in 2014, it wasn’t until he was 23 that he made his county debut – for Notts in the Championship in June 2018.
It was later that summer that Milnes, aged 28, opted to make the move to Kent. He made his List A and Twenty20 debuts for the Spitfires the following summer.
Milnes has a best of 6-53 amongst 140 first-class wickets and has taken 19 in 12 List A appearances and 45 in 47 T20 outings. His best season came in 2019 when he took 58 first-class wickets, including 5-87 in Kent’s Championship win over Yorkshire at Headingley.
He also helped Kent win the 2021 Vitality Blast, striking 22 times, and has since represented Hundred teams Welsh Fire and Oval Invincibles.
