The top-order batsmen was linked with a move to Kent last month, but has signed a new three-year deal with the Chelmsford-based club

Barking and Dagenham Post: Rishi Patel and Tom Westley during their partnership for Essex against Yorkshire at The County Ground (pic: Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo).Rishi Patel and Tom Westley during their partnership for Essex against Yorkshire at The County Ground (pic: Gavin Ellis/TGS Photo). (Image: ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468)

Tom Westley is excited to be part of Essex's journey for the next three years and would like to finish his career at the County Ground in Chelmsford.

The number three, who played five test matches for England in 2017, put pen to paper on new terms with the County Championship Division One club at the beginning of July.

Westley's deal runs until the end of the 2022 season and he believes he can contribute to more success with his home club.

Kent head coach Matt Walker stated in June he would like to sign the classy batsman, but those hopes have now been well and truly dashed.

Academy graduate Westley told this title: "There was a bit of talk with some other counties coming in for myself, but I can only see myself playing for Essex.

"I'm at an age now, I'm 30 and I have signed a three-year contract so that takes me up to 33 and I'd love to play for as long as I can and I want to be a one-club man.

"I've been at the club since I was 13 and I believe we have the make-up in the changing room and with the management and coaching staff to have a really successful era.

"We're playing some really good cricket in the four-day at the moment. We won it two years ago, came third last year and we are in contention this season, so I think we have quite a special dressing room and it would be silly not to be a part of that."

Barking and Dagenham Post: Tom Westley of Essex in batting action during against Yorkshire on his way to 81 in the County Championship Division One (pic: Nick Wood/TGS Photo).Tom Westley of Essex in batting action during against Yorkshire on his way to 81 in the County Championship Division One (pic: Nick Wood/TGS Photo). (Image: ©TGS Photo tgsphoto.co.uk +44 1376 553468)

Since his first-class debut in May 2007, Westley has gone on to score 20 hundreds in the longer format of the game.

He earned an England call-up two summers ago and hit one fifty, but was dropped after only five test matches.

Westley has played 174 times in first-class cricket and is closing in on 10,000 runs while he averages almost 37 in List A games too.

A crucial part of the 2017 Division One title-winning team, hitting two centuries for Chris Silverwood's side, the Cambridgeshire-born batter believes more success is on the cards for Essex.

In the current County Championship, Anthony McGrath's men are second, but have reduced the gap with Somerset over the last few matches with plenty of fixtures still to play include an intriguing contest at Taunton in August.

Essex's success has been due to a number of factors and the homegrown players in the squad are one of them.

Current key members of the set-up Nick Browne, Dan Lawrence, Ravi Bopara, Adam Wheater, Jamie Porter, Sam Cook and Aaron Beard have all played club cricket close to the Chelmsford-based outfit and worked their way through the academy.

Sir Alastair Cook, Westley and various others have too and it's helped build what looks an unbreakable bond between the players.

Browne, who still plays for South Woodford when possible, recently signed a new two-year deal with Essex and the County Championship club are keen to keep everyone in the group together.

"It's important to have homegrown players," Westley added. "Obviously I'm going to be bias towards Essex, but we are all good friends.

"We have a tight-knit changing room and we have played a lot of cricket together and there are a lot of guys in the squad who have come through the academy and the age groups or from the local area.

"By getting those people signed up and the core of the team, I think it will go a long way to future success at the club."