Cumbria county club has made an exciting signing for the coming season in 34-year-old former Cheshire batsman Calum Rowe.
He has recently moved to live and work in Carlisle and has already signed for the Edenside club in the Northern League.
He played 43 games in the Minor Counties Championship and 19 One Day Trophy games for Cheshire between 2012 and 2021.
In total for Cheshire he scored over 2,500 runs including two centuries with a top score of 155 not out. For the last four years he has been playing for Castleford CC who were the winners of the Yorkshire Premier League North in 2025 and 2023.
He skippered Castleford in three of the four years he was there and also led them to two K3 Cup wins and a YPLN Trophy success.
Rowe has been registered by Cumbria for the new season and is expected to make his debut a week on Sunday when the county opens its campaign at Bridgenorth against Shropshire.
Cumbria, however, have lost the services of experienced County Championship bowler Chris Wright who had been announced as the County pro for 2026.
But with Wright being appointed Derbyshire’s full time bowling coach he will no longer be the County Club’s professional due to lack of availability.
Wright ended his playing career after helping Leicestershire to County Championship promotion as Division Two title winners last season.
In a professional career that spanned more than two decades with Leicestershire, Middlesex, Warwickshire and Essex, Wright claimed more than 800 wickets.
Wright moves to Derbyshire for his first job in coaching, replacing Ajmal Shahzad who left at the end of the 2025 season.
Derbyshire’s head of cricket Mickey Arthur said Wright’s “energy, enthusiasm and ideas” was what earned him the role.
Meanwhile Cumbria have announced another signing in Tom Fraine who has agreed to play for the county in the coming season.
Tom, a former pupil at Sedbergh School, plays his club cricket for Clifton Alliance in the Yorkshire Premier League North and was previously with the Yorkshire Academy. In both 2024 and 2025 he played for Yorkshire Second XI.
Tom, of course, joins his brother Will who remains registered with the club playing for the County when his club commitments allowed over the last two years.
A number of the County’s players and some of those who have recently played for the Development Team will be playing for new clubs this season:
Sam Sharp has left Kendal to play for Penrith in the Palace Shield Amateur Championship.
Oliver Spedding previously with Carlisle will be playing for Benwell Hill in the North East Premier League.
Regan Jackson has left Workington to play for Morecambe in the Northern Pyramid Division Two.
Declan Tyson joins Barrow from Millom so will also be playing in the Northern Pyramid Division Two.
Faizan Ghumman, ex-Furness leaves Tynemouth to join Newcastle in the North East Premier League. He remains in Durham CCC’s Academy.
