James Sales: Northants teenager, son of David Sales, signs first pro deal

James Sales turned down an opportunity to play for England Under-19s to make his Northants debut

Northamptonshire have signed young all-rounder James Sales on his first professional contract.

The 18-year-old son of former Northants skipper David Sales has signed a two-year deal.

"Dad's career at Northamptonshire lasted 20 years and I've been playing here since I was nine, so to carry it on is pretty special," he said.

"But I'm trying to make myself known in the game as James Sales rather than being David Sales' son."

David Sales is 15th on the list of all-time Northants first-class run scorers, with 13,459. He made 7,041 runs in List A cricket and 1,279 in T20

Sales made both his first-class and List A debut for Northamptonshire this season.

After being named in the England Under-19 squad in August, he was instead recalled to Northamptonshire to make his debut in the One-Day Cup, making three appearances.

He then played the final three County Championship fixtures of the season, including scoring his maiden half-century against Durham.

New head coach John Sadler said: "He's a natural athlete who bats, bowls and fields. He's very calm and composed. He's really shown that he belongs at this level.

"We're looking forward to nurturing him over the next few years. He's a cricketer with a very high ceiling."