Josh Cobb has left Northamptonshire with a year remaining on his contract after he was removed as T20 captain without prior consultation by coach John Sadler last summer.

Cobb said he was “blindsided” by Sadler’s decision to name David Willey captain two weeks before the start of the Blast season, after spending four years in charge. “I am both shocked and disappointed to be relieved of my captaincy duties so close to the Blast starting,” he wrote on social media at the time.

His form suffered in the Blast, making 76 runs in seven innings and he was deemed surplus to requirements throughout the Royal London Cup and the second half of the County Championship season. His final first-team game of the summer came on June 9.

Cobb, 33, intends to continue his professional career elsewhere in 2024. “Cobb has left the club by mutual agreement ahead of the final year of his existing contract, allowing him to pursue cricketing opportunities elsewhere,” Northamptonshire said in a club statement.

The high point of Cobb’s nine seasons with Northants came in 2016, when he hit 80 off 48 balls against Durham in the final of the Blast to help them win the competition for the second time in four years. It was the second time in his career that he was named player of the match in the Blast final, after taking 4 for 22 in Leicestershire’s 2011 victory over Somerset

Northants signed Cobb ahead of the 2015 season as part of a data-driven recruitment strategy which underpinned their extraordinary T20 success during a period of financial adversity. He leaves as their second-highest run-scorer in the Blast’s history behind only Alex Wakely, his predecessor as T20 captain.

“I have loved my time at the club,” Cobb said. “Winning the T20 Blast in 2016 is one of the highlights of my career so far and I hope the club can return to those glory days in the future. I’d like to thank the club, staff, my teammates and of course the fans for all their support over the years.”

“On behalf of everyone at the club I’d like to wish Josh all the best for the future,” Ray Payne, Northants’ chief executive, said. “We’re grateful for his service as both a player and a leader as our white-ball captain during his eight years at the club”.

Visa pending, Northamptonshire are hopeful of securing the services of Rory Kleinveldt, the former South Africa seamer, as their bowling coach for the 2024 season. Kleinveldt, 40, played for the club for four seasons between 2015 and 2018, including the 2016 Blast final, and was recently part of South Africa’s limited-overs set-up.