Suffolk have secured a ‘massive catch’ after England T20 international paceman Tymal Mills agreed to play for the county for the first time in five years, writes Nick Garnham

Mills will feature for Suffolk in the opening three T20 fixtures of their Minor Counties campaign as he seeks match fitness at the start of the 2018 season.

He will play versus Norfolk at Woolpit on Sunday, May 6, against Cambridgeshire at Peterborough the following day and figure against Bedfordshire at Bury St Edmunds on Sunday, May 27.

The 25-year-old is available to play after failing to earn a contract in this year’s Indian Premier League – just a year after he was sold for a record £1.4m.

Suffolk batsman Ben Shepperson, who played with Mills at Mildenhall, contacted him to see if he may be available. Mills holds a dual registration with his first-class county Sussex, and Suffolk.

Suffolk coach Andy Northcote said: “Without doubt this is a massive catch for us, as he is arguably one of the best in the country, and the fact that he is a Suffolk boy, makes it special.

“He comes to a side that has been building for two seasons, and interestingly with the new format and T20 competition, we could find ourselves strong contenders in progressing from the group.”

Mills, who grew up in Brandon and played for Tuddenham and Mildenhall, made his Suffolk debut, aged 17, in a two-wicket Minor Counties Trophy win versus Lincolnshire in 2010.

After earning his first professional deal with Essex, Mills did not appear for Suffolk again until 2012, featuring in a quarter-final Trophy loss to Staffordshire at Longton.

He subsequently played in two Trophy matches in May 2013 – a 94-run win away to Wiltshire in Devizes and a 12-run defeat to Norfolk at Bury St Edmunds.

Mills, who left Essex to join Sussex in 2014, only plays the shortest format of the game due to a congenital back condition. He made his England T20 international debut against Sri Lanka in July 2016

Suffolk’s traditional friendly versus Essex 2nd XI, which was scheduled for this coming Sunday, has been cancelled as no suitable venues are available.

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