Gloucestershire captain Graeme van Buuren signs contract extension

The new deal follows a difficult 2021 for van Buuren, when a delay in the confirmation of his British citizenship ruled him out of much of the season

Gloucestershire have tied club captain Graeme van Buuren to a new contract.

The South African, who replaced Chris Dent in the role ahead of this season, joined the county in 2016 and his previous deal was due to conclude at the end of this summer.

Van Buuren's appointment as captain was one of the first decisions made by Dale Benkenstein upon taking over as Gloucestershire's head coach, but it has been a challenging summer since then.

The 31-year-old missed several weeks himself after suffering a shoulder injury, and they remain winless in the County Championship, having missed out on the knockout stages of the T20 Blast. Van Buuren is currently representing Birmingham Phoenix in The Hundred.

"We have made some amazing friends at Glos and I'm loving every minute of my time here," he said. "We have had a difficult year in terms of results but I 100 per cent believe that we have a squad that can do great things in the future."

^{Van Buuren missed a chunk of the season with a shoulder problem (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)}

He struck a fine hundred against Northamptonshire in Gloucestershire's last first-class match, albeit in defeat at Cheltenham.

The new deal follows a difficult 2021 for van Buuren, when a delay in the confirmation of his British citizenship ruled him out of much of the season. He was able to feature as an overseas player but was often left out, with Gloucestershire's overseas stocks full for much of the season.

"There have been some tough times this season but Graeme's character has shone through in abundance," added Steve Snell, Gloucestershire's performance director. "It was particularly pleasing in the last four-day game at Cheltenham to see him lead from the front with the bat.

"I firmly believe Graeme has a huge future and a lot of cricket left to play for Gloucestershire, and I’m very excited to see him commit his future to the club."

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