Batsman Gareth Harte and leg-spinner Ben Whitehead will both remain at Durham County Cricket Club until 2020 after agreeing new deals.
Harte, who made his first-class debut for Durham against Kent in April, has signed a two-year contract extension, while Whitehead has accepted a development deal that keeps the 21-year-old at Chester-le-Street for another two seasons.
25-year-old Harte demonstrated his talent in this year’s Specsavers County Championship, scoring 382 runs, including two impressive centuries against Derbyshire and Middlesex at Emirates Riverside.
Whitehead featured prominently during Durham’s successful Vitality Blast campaign that saw the Jets reach the quarter-final stage. The wrist-spinner took five wickets in six matches and impressed with the ball after taking over from Imran Tahir for the Jets’ latter fixtures.
Durham County Cricket Club, Head Coach, Jon Lewis, said: “We’re pleased to have extended both players’ contacts for another couple of seasons.
“I was impressed with the skills they demonstrated during this year’s campaign and both have now been given the platform to continue to develop and establish themselves as first team players.
“Gareth proved his batting potential with two impressive hundreds in the Championship and also offers us an option with the ball, which he proved by taking six wickets across all formats.
“Ben’s bowling in the Vitality Blast was impressive and he helped us secure a home quarter-final.
“He’s still young and it is now up to him to prove he can contribute across all formats.”