Pyrah retires to join Yorkshire coaching staff

Richard Pyrah, the Yorkshire allrounder, has retired from professional cricket with immediate effect in order to take up a full-time post on the club's coaching staff.

Pyrah, 32, played 51 first-class matches for Yorkshire over the course of 12 seasons but it was in the limited-overs format that he really made his mark for the club. He scored 1084 runs and took 140 wickets in 118 List A matches and was a mainstay of their Twenty20 teams, finishing as leading wicket-taker with 21 scalps in 2011.

However, his finest hour arguably came in the County Championship against Lancashire at Headingley in July 2011 when he rescued Yorkshire from 45 for 8 with a brilliant 117.

He also claimed the winning catch off James Taylor at Trent Bridge last September to win Yorkshire's first Championship in 13 years.

"I have had a wonderful career with Yorkshire and enjoyed every aspect of it," said Pyrah. "I am now ready for the next chapter in my life and I have always had aspirations of going into coaching."

He has already successfully completed his ECB Level Three coaching qualification and will embark on the Level Four course over the next two years. His new role, which commences on October 1, will span the age groups at Headingley, from youth team cricket to the senior squad.

"It is an exciting period for me and one that I'm relishing," Pyrah said. "In the past, I have had opportunities to leave the club, but I always wanted to stay even if that was to the detriment of not playing a lot of first-class cricket. I could never see myself working for another county. Yorkshire cricket is ingrained in my heart and I am look forwarding to playing my part in the continued success of this great club."

Director of Cricket, Martyn Moxon, said: "Rich has been a great servant to the club for over a decade. He has grown up with the culture of the club and has played an integral part in our success over the years. He is ready to become a successful coach and I am looking forward to working with him in the next period of his career.

"He will be a great asset across all aspects of coaching and will be able to pass on his valuable knowledge to every player he comes into contact with."