Thurston delighted as he lands new two-year contract at Northants

And the free-scoring batsman has also thanked County head coach David Ripley for offering him the opportunity to show what he is all about in this season's Bob Willis Trophy competition.

Handed a one-year contract last winter, the Covid-19 pandemic ensured there was very little first-class cricket for Thurston to prove his worth to Northants in 2020, with just five fixtures pencilled in.

But the 24-year-old took his chance as he ended the truncated season as the County's leading scorer in the Bob Willis Trophy, hitting 357 runs at an average of 44.62 in his eight innings, making one century and also two half-centuries.

“I’m delighted to have signed for another two years, I really enjoy playing my cricket at the club, there’s a great atmosphere within the group and we’ve got a really talented bunch of players,” said Cambridge-born Thurston, a former player with Loughborough MCCU.

“I’m massively grateful to Rips (David Ripley) and the coaching staff for giving me the opportunity this year to play in the Bob Willis Trophy, and I think that theme of picking young players and giving them a chance to shine has really helped my cause.

"Deep down I always knew I had it in me to score a decent number of runs at first class level, but it’s just a combination of opportunity and hard work really."

Adam Rossington skippered Thurston in the opening three Bob Willis Trophy matches, and is pleased the player will be staying at the County Ground until at least the end of the 2022 season.

“Charlie’s been impressive this year in the Bob Willis Trophy, and I wanted to see him bat up the order a bit," said Northants' red ball captain.

"He’s played some very important innings for the club so hopefully he’ll continue that next year, he’s a brilliant lad to have around the squad.”

And Thurston is not just focusing on making his mark in Championship cricket, he is also keen to break into the Steelbacks line-up for both 50 and 20-over cricket.

“I still definitely see myself as a white ball cricketer as much as a red ball cricketer," said Thurston, who has played eight T20 matches for the club, with a top score of 41, and four 50-over games, with a highest score of 53.

"It’s been a bit disappointing to not feature in the Blast but I’ve just got to keep working hard on my game.

"If I put the hard work in over winter then hopefully next year I can get the opportunities that I got this year in red-ball and show I can get big scores, game changing and game winning scores in white ball cricket too.”