George Linde joins Kent on two-year, multi-format deal

George Linde, the South African allrounder, will join Kent on a two-year deal.

Linde, 30, has represented South Africa in all formats, taking four wickets on Test debut before recording his Test-best figures of 5-64 against Pakistan last February, the last of his three Test appearances.

South Africa's domestic four-day cricketer of the year for 2021, Linde took 23 wickets with his left-arm orthodox spin at 20.95, and scored 322 runs at 46.00 in five CSA four-day domestic series matches for Cape Cobras. He has also played 100 T20 matches in his career, scoring 904 runs at a strike rate of 138.43 and taking 105 wickets at 22.93, with an economy rate of 7.3.

"This is an exciting opportunity for me to play county cricket for the first time in my career," said Linde, who will be available to play all formats for Kent. "I'm really looking forward to wearing the Kent shirt with pride and to make my own mark on this club's history."

Paul Downton, Kent's Director of Cricket, said: "We are delighted to have signed a player of George's calibre for the coming two seasons.

"We have long identified the need for an experienced, high quality spin bowler to balance our side in all formats, and the fact that George is an accomplished left-handed middle-order batter makes his addition to the squad even more exciting.

"His first-class record is excellent with 211 wickets at 24.00 and 2287 runs at 30.00 in 58 matches - his white ball performances have also been just as impressive. We believe that George will make us a more competitive side as we aim to compete on all fronts next season."