Hamilton-Brown pens new deal

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Rory Hamilton-Brown underlined his desire to lead Surrey "back to where this great club deserves to be" after agreeing a new deal

Captain Rory Hamilton-Brown has committed to Surrey for a further season by signing a contract extension.

Although his current deal was not to due to expire until 2012, Hamilton-Brown has put pen to paper on a new contract keeping him at the Kia Oval until the end of the 2013 campaign.

It underlines the faith Surrey have in Hamilton-Brown, whom they made the youngest captain on the county circuit when they re-signed him, aged 22, from Sussex ahead of last season.

“Returning to captain Surrey last year was the dream of a lifetime for me and I know we have made excellent progress,” said Hamilton-Brown, who progressed through the age groups at Surrey before leaving for Sussex in 2008.

“There have been huge changes at Surrey in recent times and I am honoured to have been given the responsibility of leading us back to where this great club deserves to be.”

A Surrey side heavily reliant on youth finished third bottom of LV= County Championship Division Two last year, and failed to progress beyond the group stages of the Friends Provident t20 and Clydesdale Bank 40.

However, Hamilton-Brown won high praise for his leadership from the Surrey management and enjoyed a prolific summer with the bat, scoring 1,719 runs in all competitions.

Professional cricket manager Chris Adams said: “In 2010 Rory exceeded my expectations of him both as batsman and captain.

“Nearly 1,800 runs in all forms of the game was confirmation that Rory is a fine cricketing prospect but it was as a captain he really impressed me, both on and off the field.

“As a key component of Surrey's future, I am delighted he has agreed to extend his contract to 2013.”

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