BOLTON cricketer Callum Parkinson has signed a new two-year contract with Leicestershire.

The 22-year-old spin bowler – twin brother of Lancashire's Matt – joined the Grace Road club from Derbyshire at the end of the 2016 season.

His new deal comes after impressing in his first two seasons at Grace Road and secures his future there until the end of the 2020 season.

He was a regular in Leicestershire's first team in all three formats of the game this summer and also won the club's Twenty20 player-of-the-season award.

He began his cricket career as a junior at Bolton League club Heaton along with his brother, and was at Lancashire before deciding to take his chances elsewhere in 2015 due to the amount of competition at Old Trafford.

On his new deal the former Bolton School and Canon Slade Sixth Form College student told County Championship Division Two club Leicestershire's website: "Everything is geared up for further progression and I’m delighted to be a part of the club.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time with the Foxes and have learned a great deal.

"It was an honour to win the T20 player of the year, a competition where I had the privilege of playing alongside Mohammad Nabi, who is world class.

“We showed great progression in the Championship, and it was enjoyable to play in a number of fine wins."

Parkinson captained Lancashire Under-17s – which also included his brother and fellow Boltonian Haseeb Hameed – but decided to leave Old Trafford in 2015 when he joined Derbyshire.

Giving his reasons why, he told The Bolton News earlier this year: "With Lancs, it wasn’t a case of disappointment because I was never really released.

“I probably would have got on the Academy the year I left to go to Derby. I’d had quite a strong year.

“It was more a choice from myself having looked at what opportunities would be available to me in the future given the spinners that were on the staff. "There was my brother, who had just signed, (Stephen) Parry, (Simon) Kerrigan, (Arron) Lilley. I just didn’t see a way through even into second-team cricket.

“If I was asked by any young cricketers coming through any system to give advice, mine would be ‘if you don’t see an end goal, get away’.”

Leicestershire head coach Paul Nixon told the club website: “Parky is a talented young spinner who works tirelessly on his game.

"He has experience of ECB programmes and working with former Fox [ECB spin bowling lead] Peter Such as well as Matt Mason, Carl Crowe and Mohammad Nabi here.

“[He] is a versatile performer who will continue to mature."