Jake Needham

Jake Needham unexpectedly called time on his playing career two months into the 2012 season, requesting early release from the last year of his contract. He had not made a County Championship appearance since 2009, a year where he also played his last T20. 2010 saw him play a handful of Clydesdale Bank 40 League matches but one game in the 2011 competition was his last first-team appearance.

He was offered the captaincy of Ockbrook and Borrowash in the Derbyshire Premier League and secured a part-time role with Derbyshire's Media and Marketing department while exploring opportunities in the financial services industry.

An offspinner and lower middle-order batsman, Needham represented Derbyshire Under-17s before finding his way into the county's second XI in 2004 and made his first XI debut in 2005 against Essex at Derby, taking two wickets.

After spells with the ECB's Development of Excellence XI and England Under-19 he won a contract with Derbyshire for 2006 - becoming the first graduate from the Derbyshire Academy.
ESPNcricinfo staff