Cricket
George Dobell, Senior correspondent, ESPNcricinfo 3y

Fynn Hudson-Prentice to return to Sussex at end of 2021 season

County Championship, Cricket

Fynn Hudson-Prentice is to join Sussex from Derbyshire at the end of the season.

Hudson-Prentice, the 25-year-old seamer, developed through the Sussex pathway and played seven first-team games for the club in 2014 and 2015. He was released at the end of 2016.

The MCC Young Cricketers programme gave him another chance, though, and he was signed by Derbyshire in 2019. He is the club's equal leading wicket-taker (with 21 at 24.95) in the LV= Insurance County Championship this season. He also made 99 in his maiden first-class appearance for the club and featured in the side that made it to T20's Finals Day in 2019. As such, he is seen as a multi-dimensional all-rounder who can contribute in all formats.

"I remember encountering Fynn at a Lord's Test match when he was with the MCC Young Cricketers and really noticing a change in the way he was going about things since leaving Sussex," Sussex's T20 Head Coach, James Kirtley, said. "I kept tabs on him as he went off to Derbyshire and it has been exciting to see him do really well over the last couple of years.

"Fynn has grown as a player and a person. He's a Sussex lad, he's a performer, a match-winner and his skill-set gives us real balance in our sides in all three formats. That ticks the boxes for us with the strategy we've got and will continue to pursue."

The news is a blow to Derbyshire, though, who are in the middle of a poor season. They are bottom of the North Group in the Championship and seventh in the North Group of the T20 Blast. They are also being sued by a former club stalwart, Tony Palladino.

"I'm massively grateful for the time I've spent at Derbyshire over the past three seasons," Hudson-Prentice said, "and I wish the club all the best for the future.

"Although I enjoyed my time at the club, I couldn't turn down the opportunity to go back home to where it all began. I'm really looking forward to the next chapter of my career at Hove."

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