Friday 16 December 2016 13:13, UK
Wicketkeeper-batsman John Simpson has extended his deal with Middlesex until at least the end of the 2019 season.
Simpson was an ever-present across all three formats earlier this year and registered 779 runs, with seven half centuries and a hundred, to help Middlesex to their first County Championship title since 1993.
Since making his debut in June 2009, Simpson has gone on to make a total of 249 appearances, registering 6,687 runs and a combined 472 catches and stumpings in that time.
The 28-year-old is held in high regard by the county's managing director Angus Fraser, who said: "He is one of the finest cricketers in the country.
"As a glove-man there are few, if any, better than him and he is capable of producing match-changing and match-winning innings with the bat.
"There are only seven Middlesex wicketkeepers who have claimed more victims than him and by this time next year he will probably be in the top six, which is quite an effort.
"He remains ambitious and focused and continues to grow as a person and a cricketer, which is great for us as a club."
Simpson added: "Lifting the County Championship trophy last year was the highlight of my career to date and it's given all of us in the Middlesex side a real appetite for more success.
"I still have a very strong desire to represent England on the international stage and am hopeful that if I can continue to perform to the level that I have done in all formats in recent seasons that this ambition can become a reality."
