Phil Whitticase has left Leicestershire after 31 years at the club following the coaching restructure that saw him lose his role as director of cricket.
On announcing the restructure in mid-October the county, who appointed former all-rounder Andrew McDonald as head coach in early November, denied Whitticase was leaving. However, the 49-year-old has now parted company with his sole county.
A reliable wicketkeeper and useful batsman, Whitticase made his Leicestershire first XI debut in 1984 and played for 12 seasons at Grace Road.
He was renowned for digging in when the going got tough, contributing 3,113 runs and taking 309 catches and 14 stumpings in 132 first-class appearances for Leicestershire.
Whitticase put his body on the line for the club over the years, including when he suffered a serious facial injury against Essex in 1995. The keeper also played 92 List A games, where he scored 793 runs and claimed 99 catches and eight stumpings.
Whitticase then went on to become an ECB Qualified Level Four Coach and worked in various capacities at Grace Road after retiring from playing.
He had two spells in charge of the first XI, initially in 2002 when he took over from Jack Birkenshaw. Whitticase was then named as head coach and academy director under director of cricket James Whitaker at the end of the 2003 season, and held the same roles when Tim Boon took over as senior coach in 2006.
Whitticase took charge of first-team affairs at Leicestershire for a second time when Boon was appointed head coach of the England Development Programme in 2010. Whitticase also continued in his role as the director of Leicestershire’s academy. He was given a new role of director of cricket and academy director in 2013.
In his time at Leicestershire, Whitticase won the Friends Life t20 as head coach in 2011 and was part of the coaching team in the winning campaigns of 2004 and 2006.
He oversaw the club’s academy system that produced England seamers Stuart Broad and Harry Gurney, as well as a lot of players who have become key members of the current Leicestershire first team.
Leicestershire chairman Paul Haywood said: “We would like to thank Phil Whitticase for his fantastic service to Leicestershire County Cricket Club over the last 31 years.
“Phil has been a loyal servant of the club and worked tirelessly for us over the years at Grace Road. We wish him every success in the future.”