GLOUCESTERSHIRE star Michael Klinger has penned a two-year contract extension.

Klinger – who is currently in his third season with Gloucestershire – has been a prolific run scorer in all formats of the game and has captained the team in both Championship and One Day Cricket.

In 89 appearances for the club, he has scored more than 4650 runs including 15 hundreds and 22 fifties.

Despite Gloucestershire missing out on a place in the NatWest T20 Blast quarter finals, Klinger is still the leading run scorer in this summer’s competition with 654 runs at an average of 81. He is the only player to have made more than one century – having scored three – and finished just 24 runs short of the domestic T20 record for most runs in a season.

The new agreement will commence at the beginning of June 2016, allowing the 35-year-old Australian to take a break from cricket following the end of his season with Western Australia.

In addition to his impressive form for Gloucestershire, Klinger – who has represented Australia A -has enjoyed a stellar last 12 months in Australian domestic cricket. He finished top run scorer in the 2014/15 Big Bash – which he won with Perth Scorchers – helped Western Australia to the Matador BBQs One-Day Cup and was the second highest scorer in the Sheffield Shield as WA finished runners-up.

On signing his new deal, Klinger said: “I am delighted to commit to Gloucestershire for the next two seasons. I am extremely grateful that the Club has given me some flexibility to be able to spend the majority of April and May with my family in Perth as, with such busy schedules in both Australia and the UK, this extra time to be a ‘normal dad’ is very important to me.

“I see my role over the next two seasons as continuing to score runs and helping Gloucestershire win games of cricket, but also to help develop future leaders at the Club.

“The improvement I’ve seen on the field with this group of players over three years is immense and I can’t wait to continue the journey with such a great bunch of guys and support staff. It is vital for the Club to keep this group of talented players together and in doing so, I can see some very special things happening at Gloucestershire in the near future and I want to be part of that.”

Head coach, Richard Dawson added: “It’s fantastic news for the Club and supporters that Michael has signed a contract extension to keep him at Gloucestershire for the next two seasons.

“He’s been an integral part of the Club both on and off the pitch. His performances with the bat this year have been fantastic in all formats and he continues to help the development of this group of players in the changing room. With Michael deciding to sign a new contract this development can continue.”