Cosgrove to stay at Leicestershire until 2018

Leicestershire captain Mark Cosgrove will stay at the county until at least the end of the 2018 season after signing a two-year contract extension at the club.

Cosgrove, 32, was Leicestershire’s leading first-class run-scorer in 2015 with 1,185 runs and is averaging over 50 this summer.

Cosgrove played three ODIs for Australia in 2006 and Leicestershire elite performance director Andrew McDonald is glad to see the batsman sign his deal.

McDonald said: “It is fantastic that we’ve been able to secure Mark for a further two years. He is a key batsman in our line-up and is an important part of our leadership group.

“It’s important to have seniority in our batting group with players of Mark’s calibre, and the arrivals of Paul Horton, Neil Dexter and Mark Pettini have also helped in that respect. We look forward to Mark returning to play his cricket here for the next two years.”