Ackerman departs Grace Road

HD Ackerman's runs will be missed by Leicestershire, who have been keen to bring young batsmen to the fore this year

HD Ackerman has decided to end his career with Leicestershire to allow the county’s younger players greater first-team opportunities.

Ackerman, 36, the former South Africa batsman, was left out of the team to play Gloucestershire in the LV= County Championship this week.

A consistently high run-scorer in five seasons at Grace Road, Ackerman has made over 5,500 first-class runs for the county, with 16 hundreds. He was also a member of the Foxes’ 2006 Twenty20 Cup-winning team.

Leicestershire chief executive David Smith said: “HD has played a big part in the development of both 19-year-old James Taylor and Josh Cobb and we feel the time is now right for Josh to be given the opportunity play in county championship cricket and stake a claim for a permanent middle-order batting position.

“I wish to thank HD’s loyalty and magnificent achievements in his five years at Leicestershire, which I have witnessed both as a club member and as CEO.

“He has been an outstanding batsman and role model to our younger players and has shown great patience and understanding of the current transitional and developmental stage that the club is currently going through.

“He will leave a strong legacy behind when he returns to South Africa during September. We would like to take this opportunity to wish both HD and his wife Kerryn every success in the future. They will both be welcome visitors to Grace Road in the future.”

Ackerman is the son of former Northamptonshire batsman Hylton Ackerman, who played for the Rest of the World XI against Australia in 1971.