Sussex Land Joey Evison on Loan Ahead of Permanent Move from Kent
Sussex have signed all-rounder Joey Evison from Kent on loan for the remainder of the County Championship season, with the move becoming permanent on 1 October 2026. Kent Cricket confirmed the 24-year-old will head to Hove immediately, available for Sussex's final five first-class matches of the campaign.
His first appearance could come as soon as Thursday, when Sussex host Somerset at Hove in the four-day format — the traditional, multi-day version of the game where each side bats twice and a result can take four days to settle. Five matches stand between now and season's end, giving Evison a running start at his new county before his three-year contract officially kicks in. Sussex Cricket announced that longer-term deal on 30 July.
Evison's journey to Hove has already taken a winding path this summer. Earlier in the season he spent a short spell at Leicestershire — his second loan with the Foxes — where he chipped in 55 runs in a win over Yorkshire. Now he swaps Grace Road for the south coast, tasked with making an immediate impression.
The numbers say he has the game for it. Across 57 first-class appearances, Evison has scored more than 2,500 runs and taken 92 wickets. An all-rounder — a player who contributes with both bat and ball — of that pedigree gives Sussex options in every phase of a four-day match, whether stabilising an innings or breaking a partnership with the ball.
Kent director of cricket Simon Cook said the club agreed to release Evison early on loan to give him first-team opportunities, and wished him well at Hove. Kent Cricket had confirmed in late July that Evison would leave at the season's end after joining on a three-year contract ahead of the 2023 season. He had initially arrived at Canterbury on loan in 2022 before making the move permanent. Talks over a new Kent deal had been under way before Evison agreed to the Sussex switch, ESPNcricinfo reported.
For Sussex fans, the appeal is straightforward. A player who bats in the middle order and bowls useful seam arrives with five games to bed in before next season starts fresh. No settling-in period, no waiting until spring. Evison gets a head start at Hove, and Sussex get an extra body for the run-in.
County cricket's loan system — which lets players move between clubs temporarily within the same season — has become a quiet fixture of the domestic calendar. Evison has now been loaned out twice in a single summer, to two different clubs. That tells you something about where he stood in Kent's pecking order and how keen Sussex were to get him through the door early.
