Harry Finch has penned a professional contract with Kent.

Batsman Finch, 27, was released by Sussex in 2020 and has been drafted into the Kent squad during the last two summers to cover injuries and Covid absences.

The right-hander helped the Spitfires win the 2022 Royal London One-Day Cup and featured as Kent won their penultimate County Championship Division 1 match against Hampshire.

“He’ll fit into our squad brilliantly,” said head coach Matt Walker after Finch agreed a two-year deal.

“Second time around, it can be very powerful. He’ll know the mistakes he made the first time around and I’m sure he’ll benefit from it.

“We have got a very strong middle-order batting group but, as we know, things can happen in a season and we know how reliable he is. Whether he comes and takes the gloves, or bats in a middle-order spot, I think he’s that utility player that’s good to have around the group.

“He’s a really positive influence in the dressing room. The boys love him.

"It’s one of those nice stories where you’re glad you can help a relatively young player who deserves another crack at it.

“This time around I’m glad we can do that because he definitely deserves it, there’s no question of that.”

Finch was one of the players that came to Kent’s aid during the Covid-stricken 169th Canterbury Cricket Week in July 2021, scoring 115 in the second innings against former club Sussex. He was then a part of the Spitfires side which defeated Middlesex at Lord’s to secure a home quarter-final in the successful 2021 T20 Blast season.

Kent considered offering Finch, who has played for the 2nds in the last two years, professional terms then but felt that the timing wasn’t right.

Walker added: “Obviously he had a career at Sussex and he was a player who had ability and did some good things at Sussex, but probably never quite found himself as a regular in their teams.

“He came out of that environment, did something else, but still wanted to play.

“Obviously last year he was around our group. He played quite a lot of second-team cricket and did really well. He played in the Covid-affected Championship game against Sussex and got a hundred, then he got runs in the two T20 games.

“There were certainly long conversations about Finchy then. We recognised he was a good player, and a very good guy who fitted into the group brilliantly.

"He was so reliable and hadn’t done anything wrong - in fact every time he had an opportunity, he performed! So we talked about it for a long time.

“But then Ben Compton came up and that’s where we invested because we didn’t really need another middle-order right-handed batsman at the time, which is what Finchy is. So Compo became the number one pick for us at that stage.

“But again this year, he played for the second-team and he was an outstanding character. He’s a leader, a very good guy and he’s good at looking after the younger players, talking them through things.

“He has some experience in those areas and we have found him as a very good, solid bloke.

“On top of that, he played a pretty big role in the Royal London One-Day Cup. He did well again and, obviously at the back end, he played one Championship game against Hampshire.

“He keeps wicket. With Ollie Robinson going to Durham, it gives us another keeper. I suspect, come the Royal London next year, we’ll need a keeper and he will fit into that role. I think he deserves it.”

Finch told the Kent website: “I’m delighted to have signed for Kent. I’ve absolutely loved playing here over the last couple of seasons.

“To win a trophy and now sign permanently has topped off a special couple of months.

“It’s personally been a challenging couple of years for me trying to get back in the game, so for Kent to give me this opportunity, I feel very grateful and honoured.

"I can’t wait to get started and I’m looking forward to helping the club win matches and more trophies.”

He scored nearly 200 runs in Kent’s successful One-Day Cup campaign across six innings, which included 52 against Hampshire in the semi-final.

He’s the latest player Kent have decided to give a first-team chance to.

Opener Compton had made just five first-class appearances when he signed last October but enjoyed a remarkable campaign, scoring more than 1,000 County Championship Division 1 runs to be named Kent’s player-of-the-year.

“It’s something we are very proud of,” said Walker. “We don’t always get it right and our recruitment has to be good. We are not in a position to cherry pick the best players.

“Some come at enormous prices, and we know we can’t afford to do that, but our philosophy and our strategy is a bit different. We try to find players that are a bit younger.

“Obviously we’d like to produce our own but, at the moment, we haven’t done that on a great level, albeit we do have Jas Singh who is the latest coming through. But sometimes, it goes a bit like that.

“If you don’t have a supply chain readily available through the Academy, then you have to look elsewhere. I think we have been pretty successful.

“There was Harry Podmore and Heino Kuhn in 2018, followed by Matt Milnes in 2019. They were slightly different situations but weren’t playing much first-team cricket. You know there’s ability there, there’s talent and there’s something to work with.

“Sometimes, it’s just about giving them opportunities and coaching them and trying to develop them into first-team cricketers. Compo’s case was quite similar.

“In his case, really, he was really a round peg for a round hole. We wanted a left-hander in the top order and, more specific than that, we wanted an opener.

“He scored a lot of runs for Nottinghamshire 2nds, wasn’t getting a chance and we just felt he was somebody who did a role we needed and liked.”