Joe Leach: Former Worcestershire skipper agrees new three-year deal

Joe Leach has hit two first-class centuries during his Worcestershire career

Worcestershire all-rounder Joe Leach has signed a new contract with the club to the end of the 2024 season.

Leach, who gave up the captaincy last month after five seasons in the role, had one year left on his previous deal.

The 30-year-old has taken 368 first-class wickets and scored almost 3,300 runs since his debut in 2012.

"I'm excited to commit myself to the club for another three years. I feel like I've got a lot to give," Leach told the club website.

"I don't see this as being a winding down phase of my career at all. I've just come off playing what is probably the best cricket of my career in September.

"It will be a slightly different role, but one I'm looking forward to in being a senior member in the group."

Leach was Worcestershire's leading wicket-taker in the 2021 Championship with 38 victims - the sixth time he has topped their bowling list.

"Every team craves experience at the moment. There are a lot of young cricketers around, and we have a particularly young bowling group," said head coach Alex Gidman.

"To have that experience and level-headedness that Joe has, alongside his skill and determination as a performer, is really, really important."

Worcestershire won Division Two of the County Championship under Leach's captaincy in 2017 and will play at that level again next summer following the decision to revert to a two-division format.