Sussex have signed South African seamer Keith Dudgeon on a two-year contract, adding a proven wicket-taker to their ranks as they look to establish themselves in Division One of the County Championship.

Dudgeon, 30, was central to Kent's promotion-winning 2026 campaign, taking 42 wickets in County Championship Division Two as the Canterbury side clinched a return to the top flight. Across his career, he has taken 281 first-class wickets at an average of 26.96.

Farbrace: 'Exactly what this team needs'

Sussex director of cricket Paul Farbrace was emphatic about the club's latest acquisition, telling the club website: "He is just the quality of player and person we have been looking for to help us to continue to grow and compete in Division One of the County Championship, and aim for the knockout stages of the Blast."

"Keith's high level of skill, experience and winning nature is exactly what this team needs right now," Farbrace added.

Dudgeon fulfils long-held county ambition

For Dudgeon, the move represents the fulfilment of a long-standing ambition to commit to the county game.

"Long term, county cricket has been the goal for a while now and I am grateful for the backing in that given to me by Sussex," he said.

"From everything I've been told, there's a great group of lads in the dressing room and I'm looking forward to joining them, bringing good energy and contributing to the team in whatever way I can."

Signing arrives amid Hove reshuffle

Dudgeon's arrival is the latest move in a busy end-of-season period at Hove. On 1 October, Sussex confirmed that five more players would be leaving at the end of the 2026 season — among them Australian batter Daniel Hughes, the county's leading run-scorer in this year's County Championship, as well as Brad Currie, Harrison Ward, Troy Henry and Nantes Oosthuizen — as the club pressed on with a wide-ranging reshuffle of its squad and backroom staff.

With Farbrace setting out ambitions both to compete in Division One and to reach the knockout stages of the T20 Blast, the capture of a 30-year-old seamer boasting more than 280 first-class wickets signals clear intent from a club determined to strengthen on multiple fronts.