WORCESTERSHIRE paceman Pat Brown has signed a contract extension until the end of the 2023 campaign.

Brown, 21, had two years remaining of his current deal but extended his contract by a further two seasons.

He has been a key member of Worcestershire’s white-ball success in recent seasons and was the leading T20 wicket-taker in the country when Rapids won the 2018 Vitality Blast.

This winter he made his England T20I breakthrough against New Zealand and was also selected for the ODI and T20I leg of the tour of South Africa before being forced to withdraw with a lower back stress fracture.

Peterborough-born Brown, who studied at the University of Worcester, is also keen to again make his mark in red-ball cricket having been part of the Worcestershire side for the finale of the 2017 promotion season in the County Championship.

Worcestershire cricket steering group chairman Paul Pridgeon said: “We are delighted to secure Pat’s services for the next four years after he agreed his contract extension.

“He has made massive strides forward in white-ball cricket during the past two years and done ever so well in T20 cricket and his England call-up was thoroughly deserved.

“Pat showed what a strong character he is two years ago when he bounced back from the disappointment of losing the Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final to Kent after bowling at the death to play such a key role in our Blast success.

“But he is also very keen to play more red-ball cricket. He has not played as much as he would have liked and has set himself some targets to push to get into the red-ball team at Worcestershire.

“He is a grafter and he will work hard to get where he wants to be in red-ball cricket — and England also want him to push to play red-ball cricket.

“At the moment he is working hard with his rehab to get himself back fit after his back injury.”

Worcestershire chairman Fanos Hira said: “We’ve been really impressed with the development of Pat both as a player and as a person.

“He has plenty of qualities that we admire and it’s great news that he has committed to Worcestershire for four years with this contract extension.

“Pat has made such an impact with us in the Blast including the two finals days and his England call-up was well merited.

"We look forward to seeing him progress further working closely with our coaches and support staff at Worcestershire.”