Joyce extends Sussex contract

Ed Joyce has signed a one-year extension to his contract with Sussex that will keep him at the county until the end of the 2013 season.

"I'm delighted to have signed an extension to my contract at Sussex," said Joyce. "Since moving down to the south coast I feel my game has really moved on under the guidance of the coaches here."

Joyce enjoyed an excellent second season with the county in 2010, averaging 45.38 in the County Championship and 42.71 in the Clydesdale Bank 40. His Championship century against Derbyshire at Horsham wrote him into the record books as it was the first time that the top four batsmen in a Sussex innings had all reached three figures.

"The next few years will be an exciting time for the club with all the ground development going on and we have a young and hungry squad of players, so I'm chuffed that I've been given the opportunity to be a part of it for at least another three years".

Joyce, 32, was recently included in the provisional Irish squad for the 2011 World Cup after the ICC granted him special dispensation to once again represent the nation of his birth.

The Irish are due to face England in a Group B match at the World Cup in March and there is a possibility he could be facing Sussex teammates Luke Wright and Michael Yardy.