Weston joins Gloucestershire from Worcestershire

Philip Weston, the 29 year-old Worcestershire left-handed opening batsman who joined the county in 1989, has been released from the final year of his contract. He has joined Gloucestershire on a two-year deal.

Weston appeared in 170 first-class matches for Worcestershire, scoring 9,132 runs at an average of 34.07 with 17 hundreds. He was not as well-suited to limited-overs cricket in which he played 128 matches, scoring 2,157 runs at an average of 20.94 but he did manage two centuries.

He captained England at Under 19 level and in 1991 scored 146 in an Under 19 `Test' against the Australian Young Cricketers side captained by Damien Martyn and including Adam Gilchrist.

He comes from a sporting family of the highest pedigree. His brother, Robin, has played for Durham, Derbyshire and Middlesex, while father, Mike, played minor counties cricket for Durham and was a notable rugby union international winning 29 England caps.

Director of cricket at Gloucestershire, John Bracewell, said: "For some time we have been searching the country for a tall left-handed opener who likes to get forward. The last two years, we have witnessed Philip Weston's skills from the wrong side of the county line. We believe Philip has the skills to contribute in all forms of cricket and, at the age of 29, is in his most productive years.

"The players and I believe that Philip is a major signing for us in our pursuit of the best balanced team in county cricket.

"We welcome both Philip and his wife Sarah to GCCC and wish him every success."