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Chris Dent signs extension at Gloucestershire until 2026

6 January 2023

Chris Dent has committed his future to Gloucestershire after signing a long-term contract extension at the Seat Unique Stadium.

The new deal will see the 31-year-old top-order batter and home-grown talent remain at Gloucestershire until at least the end of the 2026 season. Having made his debut for the Club in 2009 at the age of 18, Dent has gone on to make 325 first-team appearances for The Shire and has scored more than 14,000 runs across all formats.

A product of the Gloucestershire Academy, Dent became Club captain in 2018 and in the same year, won Batter of the Year as The Shire’s leading run-scorer with 908 runs. The year after, in 2019, Dent scored more than 1,000 runs at an average of 47.26 to lead Gloucestershire to promotion to Division One. While Dent was succeeded as Club captain at the end of the 2021 season by Graeme van Buuren, he is still regarded as a leader both on and off the pitch.

Speaking of his delight at extending his career at his boyhood club, Dent said: “I’m so pleased to have the opportunity to extended my contract, Gloucestershire has been my home since I was a teenager and I love playing for the Club.

“Gloucestershire is a club filled with great people and I’m really excited about what the future holds for me and the team over the next few years. This Club has been a huge part of mine and my family’s lives and I’m thrilled to get the chance to make more memories here.”

Having graduated to the Gloucestershire first-team in 2009, Dent played every Championship game in 2010 and in 2011 was promoted to open the batting. He enjoyed a breakthrough season in 2013 with 1128 first-class runs at 45.12, and quickly developed into a regular and reliable run-scorer for Gloucestershire.

In 2022 Dent was Gloucestershire’s third-highest County Championship run-scorer with 714 runs despite missing almost a third of the season with a foot injury, a set-back in early May which led to him missing the entire Vitality Blast T20 competition. One of the highlights of the season for Dent was a magnificent 207* v Surrey in Bristol; the highest single-innings score of any Gloucestershire batter last season.

Steve Snell, Performance Director at Gloucestershire Cricket, added: “I’m really pleased Chris has committed his future to the Club, it goes without saying that Chris has been an outstanding player for Gloucestershire over the years and I still believe he can get even better.

“I’m looking forward to watching many more match-winning performances from Chris across all forms of the game not only next season, but in years to come.”

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