ALL-ROUNDER Mark Ealham is leaving Kent to join Nottinghamshire after failing to agree a new contract at the St Lawrence Ground.

There has been speculation for some time that Ealham would be putting pen to paper on a three-year deal with his new club. Now it's official.

Kent chairman Mike Denness, a former captain of both Kent and England, said: "We are obviously very sad that Mark will be leaving us after such a long and distinguished career with the club.

"We had hoped to persuade him to end his playing days here in Kent. But the security of a three-year contract with options to renew and an exciting challenge with Nottinghamshire is a decision which we respect."

Ealham, who was at the end of an existing two-year agreement with Kent, had been holding talks with club officials since the end of the season but a deal could not be brokered.

The 34-year-old former England player wanted a contract that would keep him at the club, where he and his father Alan have jointly served since 1965, for the foreseeable future.

But Kent have experienced problems in the past with giving long-term deals to senior players. They would only offer Ealham terms for 12 months, with a negotiable rollover for further years, which the player turned down.

Ealham, a winner of 64 England one-day international caps, has spent 15 years with the club and has just had a successful benefit season.

He showed improved performances last summer and enjoyed his best campaign with the bat since 1997 by scoring 911 runs at an average of 36.

And his 38 wickets, at 26 runs each, were his best bowling return for four years.