BEN Harmison, released by Durham towards the end of last season after seven years with the club, has signed for Kent.

The move will take the 25-year-old all-rounder back to the Canterbury ground where he was part of the Durham team which clinched the County Championship title for the first time in 2008.

Kent were relegated two years later and struggled towards the foot of division two last season. Their skipper, Rob Key, has been a close friend of Ben's elder brother, Steve, since they were in the inaugural England Academy together.

Harmison senior shared his brother's grievance about Durham's decision to release him and the Professional Cricketers' Association were called in to settle the dispute.

Ben represented England Under-19s and had the rare distinction of scoring centuries in his first two first-class matches, against Oxford University and West Indies A. But he made only one championship hundred for Durham, scoring 101 against Warwickshire at Riverside in 2007.

In 37 first-class matches he averaged 26.10 with the bat and 34.66 with the ball, but he lost confidence in his bowling last season and Durham felt his future with them had to be as an all-rounder or not at all.

Kent's chairman of cricket, Graham Johnson, said: "Ben offers a lot with bat and ball and has a point to prove about making the best of his undoubted ability. We look forward to helping him do that."

Harmison said: "I cannot wait to get down to Kent and start training with the squad. This is a great opportunity and I look forward to continuing my career with a county hungry for success."

Meanwhile the last player to leave Durham for Kent, Martin Saggers, is the sole newcomer on the ECB's first-class umpires' panel for 2012.

The Norfolk-born former England swing bowler has replaced the retired John Steele after two years on the reserve list.

n Paul Collingwood got off to a disappointing start in Australia's Twenty20 tournament, the Big Bash. He is playing for Perth Scorchers alongside three former Durham team-mates in Mike Hussey, Simon Katich and Marcus North, but they all failed in a 31-run home defeat by Hobart Hurricanes.

Batting at No 5, Collingwood took 13 balls to score four before falling lbw to Ben Laughlin, while Hussey made a six-ball duck as Perth, who also include Ricky Ponting, were dismissed for 109.