Yorkshire are strengthening their women’s cricket team with the signing of England all-rounder Em Arlott on a three-year contract ahead of the 2027 season. The 28-year-old will join Yorkshire from Warwickshire, where she has been part of their system since 2020. Arlott will also link up with England team-mate Sarah Glenn at Headingley. The move comes after Yorkshire enjoyed an encouraging first taste of Tier 1 cricket this season.
Arlott’s signing comes as Yorkshire prepare to return to county cricket after The Hundred. They are due to face Warwickshire at Edgbaston on August 19, although it is unclear whether Arlott will play for Warwickshire against her future county. Yorkshire have six matches remaining in the One-Day Cup 2026 and have won three of 10 matches so far. They are second-bottom, while Warwickshire are fifth with five wins from 11 and remain close to the top three.
Yorkshire head coach Rich Pyrah believes Arlott can give the team more experience in the seam attack and also add strength to the middle order. He said, “Em is a great signing for us. We’ve just lacked that bit of seniority in our seam attack, and she brings a different dimension to it. She’s tall, she’s quick, and she’s got the experience and a very good record behind her. But we’re also bringing in a middle order batter who is destructive and can score runs. It’s like signing two players, really.”
Pyrah is also pleased with Arlott’s ability to win matches with the bat and believes she can make a difference in important situations. He added, “She’ll slot into our middle order, and she’s proven over the last couple of years that she can score match-winning runs as well. I’m absolutely delighted with that signing. Whoever we bring in, the aim is to strengthen the squad dramatically, and I think that’s what we’ve done.” Arlott has recently completed her Hundred duties with Welsh Fire.
Yorkshire have also made Alice Clarke’s move from Lancashire permanent from the end of this season. The wicketkeeper-batter has been on loan with Yorkshire and will remain with the team for the rest of the 2026 season before joining permanently ahead of 2027. Clarke is a left-handed batter who can also keep wicket and has already shown that she can contribute in different roles. Yorkshire believe she has plenty of room to develop further.
Pyrah said, “We’ve kept an eye on Alice for a number of years now,” and explained that Yorkshire had seen her regularly while playing Lancashire in pre-season and second team matches. He added, “She’s a left-handed batter, which is quite rare in the women’s game.” Pyrah was also impressed by her attitude, saying, “The thing which has impressed us the most is her character. She’s a good, solid professional. Now that she’s going to be playing regular first-team cricket, hopefully she can kick on. That’s another very good signing for us.”
The Yorkshire coach also spoke about Clarke’s maturity despite her limited first-team experience. Pyrah said, “Speaking to Alice is like speaking to a player who has been playing for 10 years. It’s just that she obviously hasn’t got that game time behind her. We see a very good cricketer there, and that’s why we’re investing time in her.” Clarke joined Yorkshire during June and scored 32 on debut against Durham in the Vitality Blast. She will now continue her development with the club.
Clarke has also been part of successful teams in the past. She was involved in Lancashire’s 2025 One-Day Cup title-winning campaign and played in their semi-final win against The Blaze and final victory over Hampshire. Since moving to Yorkshire on loan, she has mainly batted in the middle order and produced encouraging scores. She has also recorded three centuries in 50-over cricket, including 156 from 96 balls for Cumbria against Hertfordshire in August 2025.
Yorkshire general manager of cricket Gavin Hamilton said Arlott’s signing was the result of careful planning rather than a quick decision. He said, “That’s been a bit of a project, as you can imagine. You don’t just get players of that quality in overnight.” Hamilton also explained that he and Pyrah did not want to make major changes simply for the sake of making changes. Instead, they wanted to build the women’s team slowly and continue working closely with the club’s pathway.
Hamilton said, “Myself and Rich made it very clear that we don’t want to just make massive bulk changes. We want to do things really in our own time. We obviously want to work very closely with our pathway and bring them through. We will continue to nurture those, as we have been doing.” He believes Arlott can support that plan because of her experience and ability to contribute with both bat and ball while also helping younger players improve.
Hamilton added, “But getting someone like Em, who you can heavily rely on for runs and wickets and to aid the development of our own is huge for us.” He also called the signing an important statement about Yorkshire’s women’s cricket programme. “We know the timescales; we’re not moving from that. By the end of 2027, we’ll be where we want to be. Em is a big stepping stone towards that.” The club will now hope both Arlott and Clarke can play important roles in that long-term plan.
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