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. For the shortened season, the majority of counties voted on 7 July to play first-class and Twenty20 cricket, with the Royal London One-Day Cup being cancelled. 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.
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. Former England all-rounder Michael Yardy joined Kent as the new batting coach in February 2020. Sam Billings retained the club captaincy that he was first awarded in 2018. 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.
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. 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. Meanwhile, Afghan all-rounder Mohammad Nabi had signed to play for the county in the t20 Blast for a second successive year.
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.
Departures Mitchell Claydon left Kent after seven years with the team, to join Sussex at the end of the 2019 season. In July 2020, batsman Sean Dickson departed the club to join Durham, initially on loan for the 2020 season. On 30 July, wicket-keeper Adam Rouse announced his retirement from cricket at the age of 28, after having played four seasons with Kent.
All-rounder Calum Haggett and bowler Ivan Thomas were both released by the club after their contracts expired in October.
Arrivals In August 2019, Kent announced that they had signed Yorkshire all-rounder Jack Leaning on a three-year contract from October 2019. 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. 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.
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.Nathan joins Kent, Somerset County Cricket Club, 10 August 2020. Retrieved 10 August 2020.
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 Batsmen4 Heino Kuhn Right-handed — Kolpak signing6 Joe Denly Right-handed Right arm leg break Vice-captain10 Alex Blake Left-handed Right arm off break White-ball contract only16 Zak Crawley Right-handed Right arm medium 23 Daniel Bell-Drummond Right-handed Right arm medium 34 Jack Leaning Right-handed Right arm medium/off break All-rounders3 Darren Stevens Right-handed Right arm medium 9 Grant Stewart Right-handed Right arm medium EU passport holder25 Calum Haggett Left-handed Right arm medium-fast 55 Marcus O'Riordan Right-handed Right arm off break Wicket-keepers7 Sam Billings Right-handed — Club captain21 Ollie Robinson Right-handed — 22 Jordan Cox Right-handed — Bowlers1 Harry Podmore Right-handed Right arm medium 5 Ivan Thomas Right-handed Right arm medium-fast 11 Imran Qayyum Right-handed Slow left-arm orthodox 17 Nathan Gilchrist Left-handed Right-arm fast-medium On loan from Somerset for 2020; UK passport18 Fred Klaassen Right-handed Left arm medium-fast 29 Matt Milnes Right-handed Right arm medium-fast 34 Tim Groenewald Right-handed Right arm fast-medium 75 Hamidullah Qadri Right-handed Right arm off break
Bob Willis Trophy Matches played in the 2020 Bob Willis Trophy had first-class status, but there were some differences to the playing conditions compared to the County Championship. The minimum number of overs in a day was reduced to 90, the follow-on increased from 150 runs to 200, the new ball was to be available after 90 overs instead of 80, and each team's first innings was restricted to a maximum of 120 overs. Kent's first match of the delayed season began on 1 August against Essex at Chelmsford.
South Group
Matches
t20 Blast South group
Matches
Quarter-final
References
External links Kent home at ESPN cricinfo Kent County Cricket Club official site