Tuesday 21 October 2014 08:41, UK
Kent have confirmed the signing of batsman Joe Denly who returns to his home county after a three-year spell at Middlesex.
Canterbury-born Denly, 28, had a year left on his contract at Lord’s but has decided to make the move back to his home town.
There’s a lot of familiar faces still here and plenty of talent coming through from the Academy and I’m looking forward to helping them in any way I can and help build a successful future.
Denly told the Kent website: “It’s great to be coming home. As I said at the time, it was a difficult decision to leave Kent but I don’t regret the experience I had at Middlesex.
“I'm leaving a very good club with great people from the back room staff, team and management and wish them all the very best, but now feels like a great time to return.
“There’s a lot of familiar faces still here and plenty of talent coming through from the Academy and I’m looking forward to helping them in any way I can and help build a successful future."
Denly made his debut for Kent as an 18-year-old in 2004. He played nine one-day internationals for England and five T20s in 2009-10 but after moving to Middlesex the end of 2011 his career never quite took off and he was a bit-part player at Lord’s last season.
Denly added: “Every player dreams of playing for their country and I’m proud to have done that but I need to focus on making runs at county level and earning my place in the Kent team first.”
Chairman of cricket Graham Johnson said: "I remember when Joe decided to leave the club we talked about his possible return to Kent. As a player, who had come through our development system all the way up to represent England, he has kept his Kent roots.
“That such a return has been possible says much about the potential of the club right now and is also, in no small measure, a tribute to the way two county clubs can work together for the betterment of the game as a whole.
“My thanks go out to Middlesex in what they have done to make this move possible. To get Joe back is great – he is an extremely talented player in all forms of the game who, at the age of 28, has many seasons to come at a time when his experience suggests his best years are ahead of him.”
In a further boost to Kent, veteran batsman Brendan Nash has signed a one-year contract extension, keeping him at the club for the 2015 season.
