Worcestershire batsman Moeen Ali has signed a two-year contract extension to keep him at New Road until the end of the 2013 campaign.
The 23-year-old left-hander, whose current deal was due to run out at the end of this summer, scored more than 2,000 runs in all competitions last season when he represented England Lions.
New Road director of cricket Steve Rhodes said: “Moeen played exceptionally well during 2010 and was a major part of our four-day promotion push.
“The development of younger players is paramount to the club’s future and I am delighted to have a talented all-round cricketer, such as Moeen, commit his future to the club.
“At Worcestershire, it can be difficult to hang on to our good, young players. However, we have signed up Richard Jones, Alexei Kervezee and others on long contracts, so getting Moeen to agree as the final piece of the jigsaw was crucial.
“We now have a nucleus of talented youngsters who will be playing together for the next few years - that can only be a good thing for Worcestershire.
“Moeen told me very clearly that he is happy here and he has been given the opportunity to bat up the order, develop his bowling and field in the positions he prefers.”
Rhodes added: “The deadline in the final year of his contract when other counties could put in 28-day approaches has only just been reached, so it never got to the stage where teams came in for him.
“We have been working all winter to reach a positive decision for us at Worcestershire and for Moeen himself. It has taken a while, but everyone is happy to have finalised it.”
Moeen, who moved to New Road from Warwickshire, said: “I have been at the club since 2007 and have thoroughly enjoyed my time here. I have been looked after very well.
“I am grateful for the opportunities I have had, which have allowed me to develop both my batting and bowling in all forms of the game, and I hope to progress over the coming years and help the club achieve future success.”
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