Lumb puts county ahead of IPL

Michael Lumb has put his first-class career ahead of the IPL after shelving the chance of another deal in India to secure a new contract with Nottinghamshire.

He had previously admitted considering turning freelance after Nottinghamshire players were barred from entering the IPL auction last year and spoke of increasing tensions between the major Twenty20 league and the English game.

Lumb, 33, who plays Twenty20 cricket for England and in the Big Bash League, has decided to focus on his red-ball cricket after agreeing new terms with his county although had not appeared in the IPL since a single appearance for the now defunct Deccan Chargers in 2011 so was not certain to be picked up again. He had previously played 11 matches for Rajasthan Royals.

"I've played in the IPL and I feel as though I've ticked that off my list and now I want to win more trophies with Nottinghamshire," Lumb said. "The four-day game is the pinnacle of country cricket and I take pride in my responsibility to contribute consistently as a senior player."

Mick Newell, the Nottinghamshire coach, has now relaxed his stance on his players participating in the IPL. This particularly affected Alex Hales who also agreed a new deal earlier this year which will allow him to go to the tournament if he achieves a valuation in the top bracket. The same applies to Samit Patel.

"Michael has become a key figure for us in all formats and we were very keen to secure his commitment with an extended contract," said Newell. "The IPL was a factor in the negotiations but it was clear that his ambitions were identical to the aims of the squad and his batting will be important in enabling us to achieve them."

Lumb was the only Nottinghamshire batsman to pass 1000 runs in the Championship last season which included a career-best 221 among his four hundreds.

He leaves for Australia this week to link up with the Sydney Sixes for the BBL and will part of England's Twenty20 squad for the three-match series at the end of January. He will also expect to feature in the World Twenty20 later next year.