Players on the move....

His brother made the switch from pace to spin a few seasons ago and it has seemed to have worked for him!

Joe Denly is returning to Kent. He'll want to put the Middlesex experience behind him, no doubt.


www.espncricinfo.com/county-cricket-2015/content/story/790905.html

As reported in the opening post of the thread....

As reported in this thread on Oct 11 (and in the Daily Telegraph and elsewhere). His move has been artificially revived as a 'live' story  as Denly was on holiday when Middx leaked  the  news of his departure to Kent and so he was not available to do the obligatory soccer-style  photo-op in his new club's shirt until today.

As for Luke Wells going to Kent, the two players are really looking down opposite ends of the telescope. As fb suggests, Denly is a player whose career is on the skids,  wasn't good enough to score runs in the higher division and  after Middx made it clear he was not in their future plans, is grateful for another chance, even at the foot of Div Two.  Wells is an ambitious player on the up-and-up as a top quality Div One  opener, who made 1000 runs against against the best attacks in the land  last season and whom Sussex is very keen to keep.

Even though Wells is looking for greater opportunities  in white ball cricket than Sussex can offer (at least until he learns to play such formats more convincingly), I'd be staggered if he'd compromise  by sacrificing the opportunity to continue scoring runs at the pinnacle of the four day game to join one of the first-class  game's bottom-feeders, for whom the 's' word for many years now has been survival rather than success.

It looks probable that Denly has been signed as a  replacement for  the 37 years old Brendan Nash, who has been invited to sign a new contract but has so far declined  as he reportedly wants two  further seasons and has only been offered one.  Shades of the sad end of Murray Goodwin. But Nash was seldom picked by Kent as a white ball player, anyway,  and in a T20/RLC 50 top seven that goes Key,  Denly, Cowdrey, Northeast, Stevens, Bell-Drummond/ Harmison and Billings,  Luke Wells would  find it as difficult to break into Kent's non-LVCC side as he has found it at Sussex.

As I've said before, if Wells was my offspring, I'd be advising him to make the most of his current pastures rather than dreaming of greener grass  that may turn out to be considerably less verdant and fuller of thistles than where he currently grazes (as Denly found to his cost). I would hope  pere Alan is telling son fils the same thing.

The traffic between Kent and Sussex is still more likely to involve Tredwell than Wells. Kent continue to be reluctant  to grant permission  to their discombobulated  junior second-choice off-spinner  to talk to Sussex. But after signing Denly from Middx in similar circumstances, their hardball 'he's-going-nowhere-cos-he's-under-contract'  stance has been considerably undermined.  At this moment, I'd judge it still to be  50/50 whether Tredwell will be twirling in  red ball cricket next season for Kent seconds or   in Div One next season for a Sussex team pushing hard for the county championship. I'd make that a bit of a non-choice in terms of cricketing ambition; but it will be probably  be determined by how fiercely Tredwell (and Team England who are closely involved)  are prepared to push his demand for a guaranteed first team place.

Thanks cp. That further reinforces your point and mine that Wells would be a fool to move to Kent (not that they have made him an offer, from what I hear).

Sounds like Nash has  had to swallow his pride and settle for one final swansong year rather than the two he was holding out for.  For what it is worth, I think Kent are entirely right about this. He's a rapidly declining asset whose 2014 performances were mediocre, and with  the even more ancient Stevens having been given another two years in order to fend off an offer from Derbyshire, Kent do not want or need to commit themselves to a gaggle of 40 year olds for 2016 when they have so many potentially promising  young batters coming through.

As you also say, what Kent  need if they are ever going to get out of div two is not further batsmen but some competent seam bowling.  The oddest thing is that last winter they signed Griffiths from Hants (10 mph faster than anyone else on their staff) and promised him he was going to be their 2014 spearhead - but then did not pick him until the final LVCC game of the season,when he responded with career-best figures of 6-63.

That would be the hard-working American bowler, Labor Ali then?