YORKSHIRE opener Adam Lyth has signed a two-year contract extension at Headingley after admitting he “could not see himself playing anywhere else”.

The 30-year-old batsman, who has made 22 first-class centuries since making his Yorkshire debut in May 2007, has signed a new deal that commits him to his home county until 2020.

He was Yorkshire’s leading run scorer in last season’s T20 Blast competition, with his 161 runs off 73 balls against Northants in August representing the highest score ever recorded in English T20 cricket.

“I’m absolutely delighted,” said Lyth. “I’ve been at the club since I was 11 years old, and I was absolutely thrilled to sign an extension. Hopefully, I can go and win some more trophies with this great club.

“I couldn’t see myself playing anywhere else to be honest. It’s a great club with a fantastic history, and hopefully we can put some more trophies in the cabinet over the next few years.

“I’ve known most of these guys all my career, and they’re my best mates. I want to play for as long as I can with this fantastic group of players. We’ve got a great coaching staff, and hopefully we’re in for a good year.”

Lyth spent two months of the winter playing for Rangpur Riders in the Bangladesh Super League, but has linked up with the rest of the Yorkshire squad at Headingley as preparations for the new season begin to crank up.

Yorkshire suffered a disappointing County Championship campaign last season, and while their one-day form remained reasonably solid, improving results in the four-day game will be a key priority this summer, but Lyth’s new deal providing a welcome pre-season fillip.

“He’s a really important player for us in all three formats of the game going forward,” said director of cricket Martyn Moxon. “We’re delighted he’s agreed to sign on until the end of 2020, and hopefully he can get back to scoring the volume of runs in the County Championship that he did in one-day cricket last year.

“He’s a three-dimensional cricketer for us, so he’s very important. If Adam is playing well for us, it goes a long way to us doing well as a team. He’s a good role model, while his appetite to learn and for hard work is still there so he’s an excellent example for the group.”