Vasconcelos 'excited' as he commits to Northamptonshire

The club's red-ball captain admitted that uncertainty over his future had 'been a bit of a cloud' hanging over his head, and that the speculation had 'affected' his performance with the bat.

So the news that Vasconcelos has committed to the club until at least the end of 2025 is a huge relief to the player, as well as head coach John Sadler.

Vasconcelos signed a five-year contract with Northants back in 2019, but has since gone on to become one of the key players at the club, taking over the captaincy of the LV= Insurance County Championship team in April.

“I’m very excited to commit to Northamptonshire.” said Vasconcelos, who has scored seven centuries for the club since making his debut in 2018.

“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.

“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.”

Sadler is also delighted to see that Vasconcelos will be a Northants player until the middle of the decade.

“It’s fantastic for the club that Ricardo has committed to us for the next three seasons.” Sadler told nccc.co.uk

“He’s a very fine cricketer who plays all formats and who’s ceiling is extremely high.

"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.

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

South African-born Vasconcelos, who possesses a Portuguese passport, will qualify to play for England in 2024.