Another young Norfolk cricketer has linked up with the Northampton-shire Academy.

Vauxhall Mallards batsman Matthew Plater, 16, joins fellow county prospects Matthew Taylor (Swardeston) and Will Rogers (Great Witchingham) as new recruits at Northants, where Ryan Findlay (Fakenham) has also been involved since 2009.

Phil Rowe, the new Academy Director at Northants, said: 'Matthew has been attending training sessions at Northants for a few years and has showed great maturity this season, especially when scoring two hundreds for our Under-19s. We feel he has the talent to play first class cricket.'

Norfolk Youth Cricket chairman Neil Taylor said: 'I have seen Matthew progress from U10s and recently he captained our U17s to victory in the national finals. I am delighted for Matthew that he is on the road to achieving his ambition of playing cricket at the top level.'

Plater, pictured, hit his maiden century in the East Anglian Premier League earlier this summer against Horsford.

Three Norfolk products – Rob Newton, Bud Bailey and Olly Stone – have come through the Northants Academy to make their first class debuts in recent seasons.