Ben Mike, Toby Lester leave Warwickshire after loan deals terminated

Warwickshire have seen Toby Lester and Ben Mike leave the club today after their parent clubs terminated their loan spells.

Lester returns to Lancashire meanwhile Mike will go back to Leicestershire following their loan spells at the Division One club.

Lester, a left arm seamer, got five wickets in his two Championship outings for Warwickshire. That included his best ever Championship figures of 4/41 in the first innings against Surrey.

Seam bowling all-rounder Mike also found some success during his two appearances for Warwickshire. Mike, 20, hit 124 runs from his 3 innings for the county. That included a match-saving 72 against Hampshire as his final Warwickshire contribution.

The Leicestershire all-rounder spoke of the jump up in quality as he went from being backup at Leicestershire, bottom of Division Two, to being in the first team at Division One Warwickshire.

“It was quite strange at first being in a different dressing room, but as soon as I got there the lads made me feel so welcome and got me involved.

“I was a bit apprehensive at the start playing in Division One, and I noticed the difference straight away.

“If you take Hampshire game for example, they had three international players in their team, and you could tell that the calibre of player in Division One, especially in their skill and execution. It was a good challenge and I thoroughly enjoyed it there.

“It was amazing [to score 72]. All of the lads were clapping me off the pitch and were happy for me.

“It was good to contribute and help the guys get a good result in the end. It was just nice to score some runs and get my first fifty – it was really good.”

Warwickshire’s first match without the pair comes on Saturday as they face title-chasing Essex at Chelmsford.

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