Kent County Cricket Club in 2020

In 2020 Kent County Cricket Club were scheduled to compete in Division One of the County Championship, the Royal London One-Day Cup and the 2020 t20 Blast. However, the season was heavily disrupted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, with no county cricket fixtures played until August.[1] For the shortened season, the majority of counties voted on 7 July to play first-class and Twenty20 cricket,[2] with the Royal London One-Day Cup being cancelled.[3] Instead of the County Championship this year, the 18 first-class counties will compete in the Bob Willis Trophy, which will consist of three regional groups of six teams and a likely final at Lord's.[4]

Kent County Cricket Club
2020 season
Coach Matthew Walker
Captain Sam Billings
Ground(s)St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury
← 2019

The season will be the fourth in charge for head coach, and former player, Matthew Walker. Former Kent bowler Simon Cook became the new bowling coach after a spell as head coach of the Hong Kong national team, replacing South African Allan Donald who left the county at the end of the previous season.[5][6] Former England all-rounder Michael Yardy joined Kent as the new batting coach in February 2020.[7] Sam Billings retained the club captaincy that he was first awarded in 2018.[8]

The delayed start of the season and the resulting loss of income meant that, like many other counties, Kent decided to cancel contracts for their overseas signings.[9] New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry had been due to return for the first part of the season after a highly successful spell with the county in 2018.[10][11] Meanwhile, Afghan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi had signed to play for the county in the t20 Blast for a second successive year.[12][13]

Squad

Batsman Alex Blake signed a new white-ball (limited overs) contract with the county in January 2020, becoming the first homegrown player to sign such a deal with Kent.[14]

Departures

Mitchell Claydon left Kent after seven years with the team, to join Sussex at the end of the 2019 season.[15] In July 2020, batsman Sean Dickson departed the club to join Durham, initially on loan for the 2020 season.[16] On 30 July, wicket-keeper Adam Rouse announced his retirement from cricket at the age of 28, after having played four seasons with Kent.[17]

Arrivals

In August 2019, Kent announced that they had signed Yorkshire all-rounder Jack Leaning on a three-year contract from October 2019.[18] In September 2019, Kent announced the signings of teenage Afghan-born England Under-19 off-spinner Hamidullah Qadri from Derbyshire on a three-year deal.[19] A few days later, the county also announced the signing of 35 year-old seamer Tim Groenewald from Somerset on a two-year deal from 2020.[20]

Zimbabwean-born 20-year old fast bowler Nathan Gilchrist, who had yet to play a senior match, joined Kent in August, initially on loan from Somerset ahead of signing a three-year contract.[21]

Squad list
No. Name Nationality Birth date Batting style Bowling style Notes
Batsmen
4Heino Kuhn South Africa (1984-04-01)1 April 1984 (aged 36)Right-handed—Kolpak signing
6Joe Denly England (1986-03-16)16 March 1986 (aged 34)Right-handedRight arm leg breakVice-captain
10Alex Blake England (1989-01-25)25 January 1989 (aged 31)Left-handedRight arm off breakWhite-ball matches only[14]
16Zak Crawley England (1998-02-03)3 February 1998 (aged 22)Right-handedRight arm medium
23Daniel Bell-Drummond England (1993-08-03)3 August 1993 (aged 26)Right-handedRight arm medium
34Jack Leaning England (1993-10-18)18 October 1993 (aged 26)Right-handedRight arm medium/off break
All-rounders
3Darren Stevens England (1976-04-30)30 April 1976 (aged 44)Right-handedRight arm medium
9Grant Stewart Australia (1994-02-19)19 February 1994 (aged 26)Right-handedRight arm mediumEU passport holder
25Calum Haggett England (1990-10-30)30 October 1990 (aged 29)Left-handedRight arm medium-fast
55Marcus O'Riordan England (1998-01-25)25 January 1998 (aged 22)Right-handedRight arm off break
Wicket-keepers
7Sam Billings England (1991-06-15)15 June 1991 (aged 29)Right-handed—Club captain
21Ollie Robinson England (1998-12-01)1 December 1998 (aged 21)Right-handed—
22Jordan Cox England (2000-10-21)21 October 2000 (aged 19)Right-handed—
Bowlers
1Harry Podmore England (1994-07-23)23 July 1994 (aged 26)Right-handedRight arm medium
5Ivan Thomas England (1991-09-25)25 September 1991 (aged 28)Right-handedRight arm medium-fast
11Imran Qayyum England (1993-05-23)23 May 1993 (aged 27)Right-handedSlow left-arm orthodox
18Fred Klaassen Netherlands (1992-11-13)13 November 1992 (aged 27)Right-handedLeft arm medium-fast
29Matt Milnes England (1994-07-29)29 July 1994 (aged 26)Right-handedRight arm medium-fast
34Tim Groenewald England (1984-01-10)10 January 1984 (aged 36)Right-handedRight arm fast-medium
75Hamidullah Qadri England (2000-01-05)5 January 2000 (aged 20)Right-handedRight arm off break
–Nathan Gilchrist Zimbabwe (2000-06-11)11 June 2000 (aged 20)Left-handedRight-arm fast-mediumUK passport; on loan from Somerset for 2020

Bob Willis Trophy

Matches played in the Bob Willis Trophy will have first-class status, but there will be some differences to the playing conditions compared to the County Championship. The minimum number of overs in a day is reduced to 90, the follow-on increases from 150 to 200, the new ball will be available after 90 overs instead of 80, and each team's first innings can last no longer than 120 overs.[22] Kent's first match of the delayed season began on 1 August against Essex at Chelmsford.[23]

South Group
Team
 Pld W L T D A Bat Bowl Ded Pts
Essex 2 2 0 0 0 0 4 6 0 42
Kent 2 1 1 0 0 0 9 6 0 31
Middlesex 2 1 1 0 0 0 5 5 0 26
Hampshire 2 1 1 0 0 0 2 6 0 24
Sussex 2 1 1 0 0 0 3 3 0 22
Surrey 2 0 2 0 0 0 2 4 0 6
As of 11 August 2020

Sources: BBC Sport,[24] CricInfo,[25] ECB[26]

Matches
gollark: v0, which just replaces dragon with Comrade, is a great success.
gollark: Okay, the replacing thing is kind of hard.
gollark: I'll just make a userscript for it now.
gollark: Let me just do that.
gollark: Or "The People's".

References
  1. "Domestic season delayed until 1 August because of coronavirus". BBC Sport. 28 May 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  2. "Counties vote to play red and white ball cricket when season starts on 1 August". BBC Sport. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  3. "Counties could be offered opt-out as Hampshire express red-ball reservations". ESPN Cricinfo. 7 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  4. "First-class counties to compete for Bob Willis Trophy". ESPN Cricinfo. 10 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  5. "Allan Donald: South Africa Test legend to leave Kent at season's end". BBC Sport. 8 August 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  6. "Cook relishing new role as Bowling Coach". Kent County Cricket Club. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  7. "Mike Yardy: Kent appoint former England one-day all-rounder as batting coach". BBC Sport. 29 February 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  8. "Sam Billings: England limited-overs player replaces Sam Northeast as Kent captain". BBC Sport. 17 January 2018. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  9. "Counties remain hopeful of two overseas players for 2021". ESPN Cricinfo. 4 June 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  10. "Matt Henry: Kent re-sign New Zealand paceman for start of 2020 season". BBC Sport. 27 January 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  11. "Matt Henry: Kent cancel deal for New Zealand pace bowler". BBC Sport. 15 April 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  12. "Mohammad Nabi: Afghanistan all-rounder to rejoin Kent for T20 Blast". BBC Sport. 13 November 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  13. "Mohammad Nabi: Kent T20 return cancelled after coronavirus delay". BBC Sport. 29 May 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  14. "Alex Blake: Kent batsman signs new white-ball deal until 2022". BBC Sport. 24 January 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  15. "Mitch Claydon: Kent seamer to leave after seven years for Sussex in 2020". BBC Sport. 9 September 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  16. "Sean Dickson: Durham sign opener from Kent". BBC Sport. 21 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  17. "Rouse retires from cricket". Kent County Cricket Club. 30 July 2020. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
  18. "Jack Leaning: Kent sign Yorkshire batsman on three-year contract from 2020". BBC Sport. 24 August 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  19. "Hamidullah Qadri: Kent sign Derbyshire & England U19 off-spinner on three-year contract". BBC Sport. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  20. "Tim Groenewald: Seamer leaves Somerset to join Kent on two-year deal". BBC Sport. 27 September 2019. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  21. Nathan joins Kent, Somerset County Cricket Club, 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  22. "Everything you need to know about the Bob Willis Trophy". England and Wales Cricket Board. 24 July 2020. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  23. "Bob Willis Trophy fixtures 2020: Full schedule, dates, matches". The Cricketer. Retrieved 24 July 2020.
  24. Bob Willis Trophy Table, BBC Sport.
  25. Bob Willis Trophy 2020, CricInfo.
  26. Bob Willis Trophy Tables, England and Wales Cricket Board.
  27. "Cox chuffed with maiden ton". Kent Sports News. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  28. "Bob Willis Trophy: Cox & Leaning centuries put Kent in front against Sussex". BBC Sport. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
  29. "Darren Stevens skewers Sussex after Jordan Cox, Jack Leaning run-bonanza". ESPN Cricinfo. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
  30. "Kent seal emphatic innings win as records fall". Kent County Cricket Club. 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
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