Mike Hussey Photo © CricInfo

Mike Hussey will be returning to Wantage Road next summer as Northamptonshire's overseas player.

The 26-year-old left-hander signed a new contract with the club before flying home to Perth on Sunday.

Hussey dominated Northamptonshire's batting statistics in his debut season on the county circuit, scoring 2,055 first-class runs and a further 830 in one-day cricket.

He became the first batsman to pass the 2,000 mark in England since Mark Ramprakash in 1995, and the first to reach the landmark for Northamptonshire since Allan Lamb in 1981.

Hussey was offered fresh terms following confirmation that Matthew Hayden's international commitments would put him out of the reckoning for the 2002 English season.

"We're obviously very pleased that Mike has committed himself to us at such an early stage," said Chief Executive Steve Coverdale.

"And particularly in view of the fact that at least two other clubs had shown a strong interest in signing him."

Northamptonshire's Cricket Sub-Committee will meet in mid-October to consider the issue of the captaincy for 2002, but no formal decision is expected until after the General Committee meets in December.