Blakey was awarded his Yorkshire cap in 1987
Veteran former England wicket-keeper Richard Blakey will not be retained as a player by Yorkshire next season.
The 39-year-old, who played two Tests and three one-day games from 1992-93, made his Tykes debut in 1985 but has not been in the first team since 2003.

He became second XI captain and manager in 2004, has coached the first-team and is now considering his options after discussions with Yorkshire officials.

Meanwhile, Australian paceman Mitchell Claydon has failed to agree a new deal.

Claydon, 23, made only two appearances in the Championship last season, claiming two wickets at a cost of 172.

He fared better in the C&G Trophy, with eight wickets in six matches, and took five wickets in seven Twenty20 games, before suffering a stress fracture in the back which forced him to miss the second half of the season.

Part of his Blakey's time at the club this season has been aiding Michael Vaughan with his fitness following the England's captain's knee surgery.

Blakey captained Yorkshire to their C&G Trophy final triumph against Somerset in 2002 and played in 339 first-class matches, scoring 14,150 runs and claiming 768 catches and 56 stumpings.

His two Tests for England were on the India tour, and he mustered a mere seven runs in four innings, falling first ball to Anil Kumble who ousted him on three occasions.

County Championship D1, Trent Bridge day three: Sussex 560-5 dec; Notts 165 & 150 by an innings and 245 runs
Sussex 22 pts, Notts 1
Match scorecard

This is a family club and everyone plays for each other

Mushtaq Ahmed
More Sussex reaction

Spin bowler Mushtaq Ahmed passed 100 wickets for the season to bowl Sussex to their second Championship title.

The 36-year-old took 9-48 as they beat last year's champions Notts by an innings and 245 runs at Trent Bridge.

It gave him match figures of 13-108 and a total of 102 wickets, just one fewer than in 2003 when Sussex won the title for the first time in their history.

Notts lasted just 16.3 overs before they were all out for 150 as the C&G Trophy winners completed the double.

Matthew Hoggard is one of a number of unfit England bowlers
Matthew Hoggard will miss the remainder of the season as a precaution with what the England and Wales Cricket Board has termed a "minor abdominal strain".
The seam bowler, a key member of the Ashes squad, was injured warming up for Yorkshire's match against Notts on Wednesday, and missed the contest.

An ECB statement said: "The injury is not viewed as a serious concern ahead of the Ashes Test series."

Hoggard, 29, took 16 wickets in England's winning 2005 Ashes campaign.


Matthew Hoggard's secrets of swing

Yorkshire physio Scott McAllister stressed it was purely a precautionary measure that Hoggard would be rested from competitive cricket until travelling to Australia.

But he did say the bowler had continued to feel "some discomfiture" on Friday.

The ECB will re-assess his condition at the beginning of next week.

If the first Ashes Test were to take place on Saturday, only two of England's bowlers - Monty Panesar and Sajid Mahmood - would be fit to play.

Six are injured, though James Anderson is due to make a comeback before the end of the season having missed almost all of the summer with a stress fracture to his back.

Hoggard has a better fitness record than most. He will hope to play his 37th consecutive Test when the Ashes begin in Brisbane on November 23.

County Championship D1, Canterbury, day three: Sussex 289 & 161-8 beat Kent 241 & 208 by two wickets
Points: Sussex 19, Kent 4
Scorecard

Sussex celebrate a Jason Lewry wicket at Canterbury

Sussex were made to sweat by Kent before reaching a two-wicket victory that puts the pressure back on Lancashire in the Championship race.

Chasing a target of 161 to win on the third day at Canterbury, Chris Adams' side were in deep trouble at 119-6 before their two Pakistanis fired.

Yasir Arafat made 22 at number eight and when he was out Mushtaq Ahmed's 13 not out took them to the winning line.

Kent's James Tredwell took 6-81, the off-spinner's best first-class figures.

But he could have been on the winning side if Kent had been at their sharpest in the field.

Tredwell spilled a slip catch offered by Chris Adams off Darren Stevens on eight - he was Sussex's top scorer with 38.

And substitute Simon Cusden could not hold a catch above his head at mid-on to send back Robin Martin-Jenkins for a duck.

Mushy deserves the freedom of Brighton for his amazing feats for Sussex over the years

The victory put Sussex 19 points clear of Lancashire, who have two games remaining over Sussex's one.

The day had begun with Kent 186-8 in their second innings of a low-scoring match which favoured the spinners throughout.

They added 22 to that score, mainly through the bat of Neil Dexter (30 not out), while Tyron Henderson came out to bat with a broken finger at number 11 before he was bowled by Jason Lewry for one.

Mushtaq Ahmed finished with 7-74 to give him a brilliant haul of 13 wickets in the match.

Sussex hit early trouble in their run chase, with neither opener reaching double figures.

The next four batsmen all got starts before getting out and when top-scorer Adams was caught at point off Tredwell, Lancashire were in with a sniff.

Arafat decided to play positively, hitting four boundaries in a 28-ball stay at the crease.

A lot of people will sit and watch games like this unfold and think 'what on earth is going on?'

Chris Adams

But when Tredwell snared him via a bat-pad catch and added Martin-Jenkins to make it 145-8, the pressure was all on Mushtaq and James Kirtley.

The two bowlers were up to the challenge, however, much to the consternation of Lancashire fans.

Afterwards, Sussex captain Adams said: "I was already tense at the start of the day. I didn't sleep very well last night - and that's usually a sign of tension with me.

"I put half the wickets down to tension and pressure. Players get misguided, whereas in normal circumstances they would be a lot more positive and brave.

"A lot of people will sit and watch games like this unfold and think `what on earth is going on?'

"But unless you are out there in the middle, you really can't put a true feeling on what it is that's going through your mind and what pressure does to people."