BEN Coad says he can’t imagine playing his cricket anywhere else after signing a contract extension with Yorkshire.

The 24-years-old has penned a two-year extension, keeping him at Emerald Headingley until the end of 2021.

Coad is seen by many as Yorkshire's most prized fast bowling asset having taken 98 wickets in 21 Championship matches in 2017 and 2018.

Described as a “model professional” by director of cricket Martyn Moxon, Coad said: “I’ve always wanted to play at Yorkshire.

“It's been something I've wanted from a very young age. It’s the biggest club - not necessarily just in England but in the world. So it's a privilege to be able to play here.

“It's a great place to be with mates I've grown up with for years. It's the only place I want to play.”

Academy product Coad’s rise has been a remarkable one.

Having debuted in one-day cricket in 2013, he had to wait until July 2016 to make his Championship debut in an away clash with Durham.

It was his only appearance that summer, but he broke into the side again at the start of 2017 and has not looked back with season’s hauls of 50 wickets and 48.

“I’ve always thought I could perform at this level,” he said. “But a few years ago, it was very hard to get in the team with the squad we had. But I just got that break with a couple of injuries. I got a chance and I took it.

“I don’t want to get big-headed or anything like that. It’s about keeping doing what I’m doing.”

Despite the departures of Jack Brooks and Liam Plunkett, Coad is confident Yorkshire’s bowling attack will still be strong in 2019.

Experienced heads such as captain Steve Patterson and Tim Bresnan remain, while the likes of Matthew Fisher, Jared Warner and Mathew Pillans will be pushing for more first-team cricket.

“It's great to have that competition and people always pushing you from underneath,” he said.

“It's great because you’re never settled into a team. I have to perform every week to keep my place.

“It's great to have that from below because it means everyone in the whole squad has to perform at least in one or two games in a row to make sure they keep their places.”

Personally, he also is keen for more exposure in limited overs cricket.

A side injury which ruled him out for three Championship matches through the middle of last summer also scuppered his chances of Vitality Blast cricket. In fact, he has not played a T20 game since July 2017 and only seven in total in his career.

“I was a bit annoyed with the injury,” he said.

“It came at a bad time and made me miss the T20 stuff.

“I'd like to make a bit of a mark on one-day cricket next year.”

There has been plenty of talk from within the Yorkshire camp about a transitional period and how fans may have to be patient with a more inexperienced group of players in 2019.

However, Coad, who has also been modelling Yorkshire’s new T20 kit, insists silverware will return to Headingley in the not too distant future.

He added: “As long as we stick together as a group and get a couple of years under our belts, more experience in Division One, then there will be exciting times coming.

“I know the quality of the lads coming through, and what we can go on and achieve could be quite frightening.”