Sussex sign seamer Keith Dudgeon on two-year deal

Sussex have signed South African seamer Keith Dudgeon on a two-year contract. BBC Sport

The 30-year-old joins from Kent. He bowls right-arm seam, shaping the ball off the pitch to trouble batters. Sussex Cricket

Dudgeon arrives with form behind him. He took 42 wickets for Kent in the 2026 County Championship Division Two season. That is England’s domestic long-format league, played over four days, with Division Two as its second tier. Kent won promotion that season.

His career record is solid. He has 281 first-class wickets at an average of 26.96. First-class here means the longer game, including county matches. An average under 27 marks a steady wicket-taker.

Sussex confirmed the deal on 2 October under the title ‘Sussex complete signing of Keith Dudgeon’. Paul Farbrace is the club’s director of cricket.

Dudgeon spent 2026 with Kent as one of their overseas players, the limited number of non-English qualified cricketers each county can field. He was on a full-season, all-format deal running from April to September 2026. Kent Cricket He was 29 when that return was announced in July 2025.

For fans, this means new-ball reliability. Sussex get a bowler who has just come through a full promotion push. Kent lose one.