Rayner heads to Zimbabwe for Twenty20

Ollie Rayner, the Sussex offspinner, has joined the Zimbabwe domestic side Mid West Rhinos for their Twenty20 competition.

Rayner didn't feature in the Sussex side as they won the 2009 English Twenty20 Cup which secured them a place in the Champions League, but with Rory Hamilton-Brown's departure to Surrey there will be an opening for a spin-bowling allrounder in the line-up for this coming season.

"It's a great opportunity for me and this is a part of my game that I really want to develop," Rayner said. "Branching out into all forms of cricket is where I want to go and I think that I have the potential to make a name for myself in Twenty20 cricket. It's a chance that I want to take up and hopefully I'll come back and hit the season running."

Mark Robinson, the Sussex cricket manager, added: "We are eager to encourage this opportunity for Ollie, as we've asked him to work on all aspects of his game. He's now got an early opportunity to put the work that he has done into match situations. I'm sure this will benefit him."