Kent forced to bring in new squad overnight after COVID hits the camp

Kent CCC (County Cricket Club) has been forced to replicate what the England and Wales Cricket Board (ECB) had done recently ahead of their ODI series against Pakistan. Kent named a brand-new squad for their county championship match against Sussex at Canterbury this week. This change has happened after one of their players was tested positive with COVID-19.

It is yet to be revealed which player was tested positive. However, reports coming in from England suggest that the player returned a positive result after a PCR test on the eve of the match on Saturday. This basically implies that each and every player of the squad who featured with him in the county club’s T20 Blast match at the Oval against Surrey on Friday will now have to serve a mandatory 10 days of quarantine.

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South African player, Heino Kuhn, who has been instrumental in Kent’s success over the years has been brought for the rescue act. He didn’t feature in the club victory against Surrey at the Kia Oval. Because of this, he has been called up to lead the team for their County Championship game against Sussex.

The county championship match between Kent and Sussex to be delayed

According to the report on ESPNCricinfo, it’s stated that there will be an hour delay at the start of the match between Kent and Sussex. This is a result of Kent trying to assemble a line-up for the match, which will now comprise second XI players and some homegrown talents. All of these players will be subjected to testing protocols before their selection is approved.

“With the emergence of the Delta variant and recent release in lockdown restrictions, the club has been conscious of the increased possibility of an outbreak,” Simon Storey, Kent’s chief executive, said as quoted by ESPNCricinfo.

He further spoke about the sudden change of squad. It also hinted that the same squad might take in the leftover two T20 Blast matches.

“Overnight, the club has worked swiftly to identify a replacement squad that will be ready to take on Sussex in the much-anticipated Canterbury Cricket Week, and will also be preparing for the final two matches of the group stages of the Vitality Blast, with a quarter-final berth already secured.”