Rossington to treasure 'wonderful memories' as he makes shock Essex loan move

Adam Rossington has left Northants and signed for Essex on loan

Adam Rossington says he will always have 'wonderful memories' of his time with Northamptonshire.

The 28-year-old has left the club on the eve of the new campaign, and has joined LV= County Championship Division One rivals Essex on a season-long loan

It has been something of a whirlwind few weeks for the former Middlesex man, who until the middle of last month was still the club's red-ball captain, a job he had done for the previous two-and-a-half years.

Rossington admits he 'wasn't expecting a change', but new head coach John Sadler made the decision to make Ricardo Vasconcelos skipper, and that has led to his predecessor packing his bags and heading to Chelmsford.

A club statement insisted the management wanted to keep Rossington in a player-only capacity, but that wasn't something the wicket-keeper batsman was keen on at all, admitting he had been 'looking forward to leading the lads' this summer.

The statement read: "Adam Rossington requested time away from the squad after a change in the club’s leadership group.

"The Cricket Committee were happy to support this and maintained a conversation throughout, but unfortunately could not come to an agreement."

As the news of his departure was announced, Rossington was keen to thank his team-mates as well as the club's fanbase.

“I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my eight years at Northamptonshire and was looking forward to leading the lads in division one this season," said Rossington.

"I wasn’t expecting a change, so I’m sad to be leaving, but the club will always hold a special place in my heart.

“We’ve created some wonderful memories in that dressing room that I’ll take with me, and I’d like to say thank you to my team-mates and the supporters as well.”

Rossington leaves Northants having led the team to promotion from division two of the County Championship in 2019, taking over the top job after Alex Wakely resigned as captain midway through the summer.

He was also part of the exciting Steelbacks team that won the T20 Blast in 2016.

In all, he made made 192 appearances for the club in all competitions.

Rossington's loan move to Essex has the stipulation that he is unable to play against Northants in any competition this summer.

The former skipper's contract at Wantage Road ends at the end of 2022.