Warwickshire's 19 year-old batsman, Ian Bell, has signed a new two-year extension to his contract.

The highly rated youngster, who has captained the England Under 19 side and played for England A in the Caribbean last winter, is currently with the ECB National Academy squad in Adelaide.

He made in inauspicious start to his first-class career with a duck on his debut in 1999 but, last summer, he scored 836 first-class runs at an average of 64.30 with three centuries. He was the second-placed Englishman in the national averages, excluding two players who had completed only a couple of first-class innings.

The new contract for Bell, who is tipped to go on to full England representative honours before long, means that this outstanding prospect will be with Warwickshire until at least the end of the 2004 season.

© CricInfo