Josh Cobb commits to Northamptonshire as he signs new two-year contract

The 32-year-old's current deal was due to expire at the end of this campaign, but the club's white ball skipper has agreed to stay at the County Ground until at least the end of summer 2024.

“I’m pleased to be staying at Northamptonshire.” said Cobb, who joined Northants from neighbours Leicestershire ahead of the 2015 season.

“It’s a great dressing room to be a part of, I’ve really enjoyed my time so far and would love to get the club back to playing more big games and finals."

Cobb's first two seasons at the County Ground saw him help the team to two T20 Blast Finals, finishing as runners-up in 2015 and then winning the competition in 2016 when he was man of the match in the final win over Durham.

The team has struggled to replicate that success in T20 cricket in subsequent seasons, but Cobb, who took over the white ball captaincy for the 2020 season, is confident things are heading in the right direction.

“We made good strides forward in T20 this year," said the hard-hitting batsman and off-break bowler, who scored 318 runs at 31.8 in this summer’s competition.

"And while it was very disappointing to miss out on qualification, there’s a load of really positive signs there to carry into next year.”

Currently captaining Welsh Fire in The Hundred, Cobb has in recent seasons been seen as something of a white-ball specialist, with his number of County Championship appearances steadily dropping each year.

But under head coach John Sadler in 2022 he has been offered the chance to make his mark in red ball cricket as well.

And he has taken that opportunity, scoring 289 runs at an average of 41.28 in the five matches he has played, with two half-centuries and a top score of 88.

It is a form of cricket Cobb has always wanted take more of a part in for Northants, and he admitted: “It’s nice to be back involved in red ball a bit more.

"I’ve felt in good touch all year and the lads have competed really well in division one.

“I just want to try influence and win games whenever I’m playing, it doesn’t matter if that’s in whites or coloured kit.”

Cobb joins a string of key players that have signed new deals at Wantage Road in recent weeks, following on from Ricardo Vasconcelos, Luke Procter, Ben Sanderson, Emilio Gay, Jack White and Lewis McManus.

The club has also signed England all-rounder David Willey on a four-year contract.