England U19 wicketkeeper Dawkins signs first Kent deal

Ben Dawkins has featured in three England U19 matches against India this summer

England Under-19s wicketkeeper-batter Ben Dawkins has signed his first professional contract with Kent.

The 18-year-old has played in three youth ODIs for England against India this summer, scoring more than 60 runs in each match.

Dawkins has been a regular for Kent's second XI and took a catch after coming on as a substitute fielder in the Spitfires' win over Sussex Sharks in the T20 Blast on Wednesday.

He will now be available to play for Kent in competitive first-team matches and goes straight into the squad for Friday's match against Somerset in the Blast.

"Ben is a bright young talent, having progressed through our talent pathway programme, and we're excited that he can now make the step up to first-team cricket," director of cricket Simon Cook said.

"This is just the start for Ben, and we hope that his impressive performances at international representative level will help him kick-on in his development as he makes the transition into our first team."