Officially, there is not a transfer system in county cricket. In reality, however, there appear to be an increasing number of examples of a cricketer moving on when his contact comes up for renewal.

The latest player to change counties is 29 year-old Ben Smith who is leaving Grace Road, Leicester for New Road, Worcester, having played in two Leicestershire championship winning teams as well as appearing in the C & G Trophy final at Lord's in September when his team lost to Somerset.

It was feared that the introduction of a two-division county championship would see an increase in the number of players moving county. As sides became established in the top division, it was thought that the best players would be attracted to those counties in order to catch the attention of the national selectors. In this instance, however, Smith is bucking that trend by dropping down a division.

In the argot of the modern game, he cites "a new challenge" as the reason behind the move. He added "I'm looking forward to playing for Worcestershire as much as I did 12 years ago when I started at Grace Road. I will always have very fond memories of Leicestershire, but there comes a time when you have to make a decision for yourself, and that time came for me."

Director of Cricket at Worcestershire, Tom Moody, commented "Apart from being an outstanding county cricketer, Ben brings a winning mentality to the team."

Smith, who has signed a three-year contract with his new county, made his debut for Leicestershire in 1990, was capped in 1995 and last season was appointed as vice-captain. He included five CricInfo Championship centuries in his 1,222 runs in 2001 at an average of 43.64.

© CricInfo