Richard Gleeson: Northants pace bowler signs new deal with Division Two side

Richard Gleeson has a bowling average of 35.81 from eight Championship matches for Northamptonshire

Northamptonshire seam bowler Richard Gleeson has signed a new three-year deal to begin in 2017.

The 28-year-old had never played a professional game before last summer's tour match against Australia.

He has since appeared in 15 games across all three formats on a match-to-match basis, taking three wickets in both of his last two T20 appearances.

"His level of performance has been nothing short of sensational," said director of cricket David Ripley.

"He's turned himself from someone who looks like they'll be a good red-ball bowler and add some volume to our bowling resources to someone that's one of the early names on the teamsheet and branched into all formats.

"I think he can get better as well. He's got this far in a quite a short learning curve so his learning curve is steep at the moment," Ripley told BBC Radio Northampton.

"He's got to show his durability over seasons, but I'm really excited about Richard. It's quite amazing to think he's 28, never featured professionally and I would say we've done a good job in finding him."