Joe Gatting extends contract with Sussex until 2013

Gatting is currently with the Sussex squad in the Caribbean

Sussex batsman Joe Gatting has signed a one-year extension to his contract with the club.

The 24-year-old will now remain at Hove until the end of the 2013 season.

Sussex cricket manager Mark Robinson said: "We're delighted Joe has committed himself to the club for a further year.

"The last third of the summer showed Joe's full potential when he scored his maiden Championship hundred and his first one-day hundred."

Gatting has been at Sussex since the age of 15 but only made his debut in 2009 after spending three seasons playing football for Brighton & Hove Albion, scoring 152 in his first-class debut appearance against Cambridge University.

Robinson added: "In cricketing terms he is still quite inexperienced due to his time in football, and we believe the best of him is still to come."

Gatting, the nephew of former England captain Mike, played 23 games for Sussex in the 2011 season and hit his maiden County Championship century against Worcestershire in the penultimate game of the campaign.

"I'm very pleased to have extended my contract," Gatting said.

"I'm excited about the next two years and hopefully I can continue my good form from the end of last season to make a big impact."

Gatting is currently a member of the Sussex squad competing in the Caribbean Twenty20 tournament.