Paris is on hold for Tom Bruce – and he couldn’t be happier about it.

Nothing against the French capital, the celebrated City of Lights with its world famous landmarks and sophisticated feel.

Nor Budapest, another on Bruce’s summer hit list.

But the chance to follow a couple of distinguished Central Districts team-mates in Twenty20 action with Sussex Sharks is too good to miss.

Bruce is on board for the Vitality Blast as Sussex look to cover the absence of injured Stiaan van Zyl.

It is a great chance to make an impact in county cricket and offer New Zealand selectors a reminder of what he can do ahead of next summer’s 50-overs World Cup in this country. And it is one he cannot wait to grab hold of.

Bruce came to England to play for Weybridge in the Surrey League during the New Zealand winter after being dropped by the Black Caps’ T20 side.

A hard-hitting 172 in early season for Surrey IIs against their Sussex counterparts alerted a few people at Hove.

The deal was completed once it became clear van Zyl was out of the Blast.

Bruce told The Argus: “It has happened pretty quickly but I’m thankful for the opportunity and I’m just looking to repay the faith and perform for Sussex. At the end of last summer (our winter), I was dropped and I just wanted to keep playing a bit of cricket.

“It’s a good standard of club cricket up at Weybridge. The World Cup is next year in England as well.

“I thought it would be a good opportunity to come over and do a bit of batting and just continue to develop my game.

“It doesn’t matter what level, you have just to keep learning and developing yourself.

“I’ve been playing for Weybridge on Saturdays, I have got a couple of coaching gigs on Sundays and Mondays but the rest of the week is pretty chilled out.

“I work on the body and get right for the weekend and just enjoy myself over here. I have some travel I had planned in July and August – Paris, Budapest – but I’m happy to put that on hold. It’s a good reason!”

Bruce says Weybridge were delighted to see him secure the Sussex deal.

He added: “It’s a great club with some great personnel.

“They see the bigger picture but I’ll still be playing a fair bit of cricket for them as well.

“We are working on the finer details but I’m hoping to still play the majority of games for Weybridge and repay the faith for them as well.”

There is also the hope it leads to something more long-term in the county game.

He said: “Obviously, I’d really love to be over here playing during the New Zealand winter no matter what form of cricket.

“I wasn’t going to get a county gig anywhere so for this to happen and to now push for bigger things would be nice.”

Bruce is good mates with former Sussex T20 skipper Ross Taylor back at Central Districts.

That was also the New Zealand home of Mahela Jayawardena, who played the shortest form for the Sharks.

He said: “I messaged Ross and asked him what are the Sussex boys like, what’s the ground like and he had nothing but praise for everyone.

“As a cricketer you follow what goes on and the results. So I followed what Sussex were doing.”

He added: “I’m naturally an aggressive batsman.

“The cricket that is being played these days is very aggressive and I like that. At the same time, I still respect the four-day and five-day game and have aspirations to play all formats. But, at the stage now, Twenty20 seems to be taking priority.”

As will Hove and Sussex all the time the county remain involved in the Blast.

Paris? It’s beautiful in September!