Worcestershire: Jake Libby signs new Pears deal until 2024
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Worcestershire opener Jake Libby was the second highest run-scorer in red-ball behind Alastair Cook last season and is again in 2021, second only to David Bedingham
Worcestershire opening batsman Jake Libby has signed a new contract at New Road tying him to the Pears until 2024.
Libby, 28, who joined Worcestershire from Nottinghamshire at the end of the 2019 season, has been in great form.
In 2020, he was the Pears' leading run-scorer in the Bob Willis Trophy, with 498 runs, and his County Championship tally this season stands at 798.
He has also captained the Pears, when skipper Joe Leach was injured in April.
He is averaging more than 30 in both forms of limited-over cricket, having made 239 runs in seven One-Day Cup games and 633 in 22 T20 Blast matches, to top Worcestershire's averages both in 2020 and 2021.
Worcestershire head coach Alex Gidman said: "He has some outstanding characteristics, on and off the pitch. It is a natural progression for him to take up a leadership role.
"Jake showed some good qualities while he was with Nottinghamshire but didn't always get the opportunities he perhaps felt he needed. For us, he is getting more opportunities and has shown the quality to back that up."
Libby said: "It's been an excellent move for me coming to Worcestershire. Hopefully it will continue to get better. I've felt a lot more settled here.
"I feel it was my spot to lose here in terms of, if I play good cricket, I will play. I certainly feel like I'm more of a senior player, and I've enjoyed playing under Joe Leach. He leads the team well.
"I do still have international ambitions, and I think I can achieve them at Worcestershire, but I am also aware that I need to keep improving and work on a few things to get to that level."
Worcestershire, who failed to qualify for the knockout stages having finished fifth in their group in both the One-Day Cup and T20 Blast, will be in Division Three when the red-ball season resumes next week, in the same tier as Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Middlesex, Kent and Sussex.
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