Ricardo Vasconcelos: Northamptonshire red-ball skipper extends contract to 2025

Northants have not won any of their seven Championship Division One games this season - but six ended in draws

Northamptonshire red-ball captain Ricardo Vasconcelos has agreed a contract extension to run until the end of the 2025 season.

The 24-year-old South African has scored almost 4,000 runs in all formats since arriving in 2018.

He was chosen as Championship skipper less than a fortnight before the start of the season, which led to predecessor Adam Rossington joining Essex.

Vasconcelos qualifies as a non-overseas player as he has a Portuguese passport.

"It's been a bit of a cloud hanging over my head for about a year now, all the chat about me possibly moving on, so much so that it's probably affected my performances a bit, so I'm glad I can now put that behind me and focus on leading the team and scoring runs," he said.

"I think everyone can see the direction we're going in as a team and I'm very excited to see what the next few years have in store for us."

Vasconcelos has scored 326 runs in the County Championship this season, with one century - and an innings of 156 against 2021 champions Warwickshire at Edgbaston in May.

"He can now focus purely on his cricket and I'm sure we'll get to see the absolute best of Vasco in all formats," said head coach John Sadler.

"He's good enough and has ambitions to play international cricket for England and we want to help him get there."