WORCESTERSHIRE wicketkeeper Steven Davies has rejected a two-year contract extension with the County.

The 22-year-old, whose current deal runs out at the end of next term, has been in talks with the New Road side since the close of the season.

The Bromsgrove-born gloveman added a further 12 months to his contract in January but, despite rejecting the latest extension from the County, chief executive Mark Newton isn’t overly concerned.

“Steven wants to concentrate on playing well for the England Performance Programme (EPP) squad and getting into the England Lions squad this winter and nothing else,” Newton said.

“We fully understand that. Obviously, we want him to stay at Worcestershire. We offered him a two-year extension, he has chosen not to accept it and we respect his decision.”

Davies is regarded as one of the best wicketkeepers in the country and will be looking for an impressive winter with the England set-up and a good start to the new campaign to boost his bargaining powers.

Worcestershire will be mindful of the long-running contract saga of Stephen Moore this past summer when the country’s leading run-scorer was chased by virtually every first-class county.

The New Road side won that battle with the EPP batsman signing a three-year deal in August.

The side, promoted to Division One in the LV County Championship for next season, do not want to wait that long again but will not resume talks until the new season gets under way.

“Steven is a player who backs himself, and so do we, and, like most players, he wants to be in the strongest position possible when it comes to contract talks,” Newton added.

Davies was named the Professional Cricketers Association’s Pro40 most valuable player in 2008 and topped the number of dismissals in the first-class game last season with 72.

Given his current form, he is fully expected to break into the England side sooner rather than later but the EPP gloveman knows he will need to produce more consistency with the bat after his slow start to the campaign.

He averaged nearly 40 in the championship and smashed his way to 503 runs in eight Pro40 matches this term at an average of 71.85, which included two centuries.