Teenage all-rounder Jaydn Denly has become the latest player to commit to play for Kent in the 2025 season.
Left-hander Denly, 18, has penned a two-year deal having signed his first senior contract last November.
Whitstable’s Denly, the nephew of team-mate Joe Denly, made his full debut against Surrey in the Metro Bank One-Day Cup in August 2023 after he graduated from Kent’s Academy.
He has since featured for Kent in both first-class and List A cricket, scoring 330 runs and taking nine wickets with his spin.
England under-19 international Denly said: “I’ve absolutely loved playing for Kent after progressing through our Talent Pathway and I’m hungry to progress further, heading into 2025 and further.
“It’s an extremely welcoming group we have here and I now feel very much like a part of the team.
“I’m aiming to continue to get better with both bat and ball in all formats and put good performances in for my home county.”
He showed great composure to score 41 not out from 128 balls against Essex to secure Kent a County Championship Division 1 draw on his first-class bow in April and followed it up with 47 from 33 deliveries against Bedfordshire in a National County Match.
“Jaydn is a top prospect and, by making the step up to the first team, he has shown that he already has the skill to make an impact for us in the near future,” director of cricket Simon Cook said.
“I know our members and supporters value the work we are doing in improving our Talent Pathway, and to get us back to a stage where a Kent team is a majority of home-grown talent.
“There are more exciting prospects coming down the line for us and Jaydn can now show these players that there is a clear path to getting into the first team through hard work.”
Denly is the son of Whitstable CC captain Sam Denly, also a former football manager at Herne Bay and Hythe.
News of Denly’s fresh terms with Kent – presently without a head coach following Matt Walker’s departure – came on Wednesday, a day after England international batsman Zak Crawley signed a new deal and two days after South African-born domestic batsman Chris Benjamin became their first close-season recruit.
Spinner Hamid Qadri and fast-medium bowler Arafat Bhuiyan have left Kent following the conclusion of their respective contracts.
Kent will hold the end-of-season dinner at The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury, tonight.
