Kent County Cricket Club in 2020
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| 2020 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach |  Matthew Walker | ||
| Captain | Sam Billings | ||
| Ground(s) | St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury | ||
| Bob Willis Trophy | 2nd, South Group | ||
| Vitality Blast | Quarter-finals | ||
| |||
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 competed for the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy, which consisted of three regional groups of six teams and a final at Lord's.[4]
The season was 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] Billings and vice-captain Joe Denly both spent time away with England squads throughout the season, and so Daniel Bell-Drummond captained the team on several occasions.[9]
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.[10] 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.[11][12] Meanwhile, Afghan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi had signed to play for the county in the t20 Blast for a second successive year.[13][14]
Departures
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.[15]
Mitchell Claydon left Kent after seven years with the team, to join Sussex at the end of the 2019 season.[16] In July 2020, batsman Sean Dickson departed the club to join Durham, initially on loan for the 2020 season.[17] On 30 July, wicket-keeper Adam Rouse announced his retirement from cricket at the age of 28, after having played four seasons with Kent.[18]
All-rounder Calum Haggett and bowler Ivan Thomas were both released by the club after their contracts expired in October.[19][20]
Arrivals
In August 2019, Kent announced that they had signed Yorkshire all-rounder Jack Leaning on a three-year contract from October 2019.[21] 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.[22] 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.[23]
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.[24]
Squad list
- Ages given as of the first day of the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy, 1 August 2020.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Batsmen | ||||||
| 4 | Heino Kuhn |  South Africa | 1 April 1984 (aged 36) | Right-handed | — | Kolpak signing |
| 6 | Joe Denly | England | 16 March 1986 (aged 34) | Right-handed | Right arm leg break | Vice-captain |
| 10 | Alex Blake | England | 25 January 1989 (aged 31) | Left-handed | Right arm off break | White-ball contract only[15] |
| 16 | Zak Crawley | England | 3 February 1998 (aged 22) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 23 | Daniel Bell-Drummond | England | 3 August 1993 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 34 | Jack Leaning | England | 18 October 1993 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right arm medium/off break | |
| All-rounders | ||||||
| 3 | Darren Stevens | England | 30 April 1976 (aged 44) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 9 | Grant Stewart |  Australia | 19 February 1994 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | EU passport holder |
| 25 | Calum Haggett | England | 30 October 1990 (aged 29) | Left-handed | Right arm medium-fast | |
| 55 | Marcus O'Riordan | England | 25 January 1998 (aged 22) | Right-handed | Right arm off break | |
| Wicket-keepers | ||||||
| 7 | Sam Billings | England | 15 June 1991 (aged 29) | Right-handed | — | Club captain |
| 21 | Ollie Robinson | England | 1 December 1998 (aged 21) | Right-handed | — | |
| 22 | Jordan Cox | England | 21 October 2000 (aged 19) | Right-handed | — | |
| Bowlers | ||||||
| 1 | Harry Podmore | England | 23 July 1994 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 5 | Ivan Thomas | England | 25 September 1991 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | |
| 11 | Imran Qayyum | England | 23 May 1993 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 17 | Nathan Gilchrist | South Africa | 11 June 2000 (aged 20) | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | On loan from Somerset for 2020; UK passport |
| 18 | Fred Klaassen |  Netherlands | 13 November 1992 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Left arm medium-fast | |
| 29 | Matt Milnes | England | 29 July 1994 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right arm medium-fast | |
| 34 | Tim Groenewald | England | 10 January 1984 (aged 36) | Right-handed | Right arm fast-medium | |
| 75 | Hamidullah Qadri | England | 5 January 2000 (aged 20) | Right-handed | Right arm off break | |