# Kent County Cricket Club in 2023

In 2023, Kent County Cricket Club competed in the 2023 County Championship, the 2023 One-Day Cup and the 2023 T20 Blast. The season was the seventh in charge for head coach, and former player, Matthew Walker. Sam Billings retained the club captaincy that he was first awarded in 2018. In June 2023, Billings stepped down as captain in the County Championship for the remainder of the season after a run of poor form in the format, with Jack Leaning taking over the captaincy. Ryan ten Doeschate left his position as batting coach after a single season with Kent, to take up a role with the Kolkata Knight Riders. Former Worcestershire head coach Alex Gidman joined Kent as a replacement for ten Doeschate.

## Squad
### Departures

On 29 July 2022, Matt Milnes signed a contract to join Yorkshire at the end of the season. In August it was announced that Darren Stevens would be released at the end of the season after 17 years with Kent. Stevens played over 630 games for Kent, scored more than 28,000 runs and took almost 900 wickets. On 23 September 2022, the club announced that wicketkeeper-batsman Ollie Robinson would be leaving the club at the end of the season to join Durham. In November 2022, Harry Podmore signed for Glamorgan.
At the end of the season, following his one-year stint at the county, Michael Hogan retired from cricket.

### Arrivals

On 30 July 2022, Kent signed 20 year-old Joey Evison from Nottinghamshire, initially on loan for the One-Day Cup before joining on a three-year contract from the start of the 2023 season. In October 2022, Harry Finch signed a two-year contract to run until the end of the 2024 season. Finch had previously had short spells with Kent in 2021 season when the squad had been severely affected by COVID-19. and again in 2022 season as cover for a number of players absent due to injuries and The Hundred.
In November 2022, Kent signed Australian veteran Michael Hogan. Hogan had originally planned to retire at the end of the 2022 season, which was his tenth year with Glamorgan. In December 2022, Kent announced that Australian international fast-bowler Kane Richardson would play for the county as an overseas player for the 2023 T20 Blast. In March 2023, Indian bowler Arshdeep Singh agreed to play up to five County Championship matches in June and July for the county. In April 2023, Connor McKerr rejoined the county on loan from Surrey for two County Championship matches to cover for injuries in the bowling unit, having previously had a spell with Kent at the end of the 2022 season. Two days later, Australian bowler Wes Agar signed for Kent to play four County Championship matches until Arshdeep Singh arrives in June. Agar later signed an extension to keep him with Kent until the end of July.
In May 2023, Bangladesh-born seam bowler Arafat Bhuiyan signed a professional contract with Kent for the remainder of the season, after a spell with the 2nd XI and playing in the Kent League for Blackheath.
In June 2023, Kent announced that England leg-spinner Matt Parkinson would join from Lancashire at the end of the season. In July, it was announced that Parkinson would also join on loan this summer for the One Day Cup.
On 25 July, due to several players being unavailable due to injuries and international duty, Kent signed batters Toby Albert and Ben Geddes on loan from Hampshire and Surrey, respectively, on loan for a County Champiomship match against Nottinghamshire.
Brisbane Heat and Queensland all-rounder James Bazley, joined Kent for the One Day Cup.
In August, Kent announced that New Zealand bowler Ben Lister would join the club to play the final three County Championship matches, subject to international call-ups. On 6 September, Indian leg spin bowler Yuzvendra Chahal signed to play im Kent's final three County Championship matches. On 10 September, following further injuries, Kent signed spin bowler Aron Nijjar on loan from Essex for the last three games of the season.
At the end of the season, bowler George Garrett signed a two-year contract with Kent to join from Warwickshire.

### Squad list

* Ages given as of the first day of the County Championship, 6 April 2023.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batsmen |||||||
| 2 | Ben Compton | England | (1994-03-29)29 March 1994 (aged 29) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 6 | Joe Denly | England | (1986-03-16)16 March 1986 (aged 37) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 10 | Alex Blake | England | (1989-01-25)25 January 1989 (aged 34) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | White-ball contract only |
| 14 | Tawanda Muyeye | Zimbabwe | (2001-03-05)5 March 2001 (aged 22) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Qualifies as a domestic player |
| 16 | Zak Crawley | England | (1998-02-03)3 February 1998 (aged 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 23 | Daniel Bell-Drummond | England | (1993-08-03)3 August 1993 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Vice-captain |
| 34 | Jack Leaning | England | (1993-10-18)18 October 1993 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium/off break | |
| 72 | Harry Finch | England | (1995-02-10)10 February 1995 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| All-rounders |||||||
| 9 | Grant Stewart | Italy | (1994-02-19)19 February 1994 (aged 29) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | EU passport |
| 27 | George Linde | South Africa | (1991-12-04)4 December 1991 (aged 31) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Overseas player (April–July) |
| 33 | Joey Evison | England | (2001-11-14)14 November 2001 (aged 21) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 42 | Jaydn Denly | England | (2006-01-05)5 January 2006 (aged 17) | Left-handed | Slow left arm orthodox | |
| 55 | Marcus O'Riordan | England | (1998-01-25)25 January 1998 (aged 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 77 | James Bazley | Australia | (1995-04-08)8 April 1995 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Overseas player, One Day Cup only (August) |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 7 | Sam Billings | England | (1991-06-15)15 June 1991 (aged 31) | Right-handed | — | Club captain |
| 22 | Jordan Cox | England | (2000-10-21)21 October 2000 (aged 22) | Right-handed | — | |
| Bowlers |||||||
| 8 | Wes Agar | Australia | (1997-02-05)5 February 1997 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Overseas player (April–July) |
| 11 | James Logan | England | (1997-10-12)12 October 1997 (aged 25) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 17 | Nathan Gilchrist | South Africa | (2000-06-11)11 June 2000 (aged 22) | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | UK passport |
| 18 | Fred Klaassen | Netherlands | (1992-11-13)13 November 1992 (aged 30) | Right-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | |
| 19 | Jas Singh | England | (2002-09-19)19 September 2002 (aged 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 26 | Arafat Bhuiyan | England | (1996-10-11)11 October 1996 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | |
| 27 | Yuzvendra Chahal | India | (1990-06-23)23 June 1990 (aged 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Overseas player (County Championship, September) |
| 28 | Matt Parkinson | England | (1996-10-24)24 October 1996 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | On loan from Lancashire (One Day Cup) |
| 31 | Michael Hogan | Australia | (1981-05-31)31 May 1981 (aged 41) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | UK passport |
| 47 | Kane Richardson | Australia | (1991-02-12)12 February 1991 (aged 32) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Overseas player (T20 Blast) |
| 64 | Matt Quinn | New Zealand | (1993-02-28)28 February 1993 (aged 30) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | UK passport |
| 75 | Hamidullah Qadri | England | (2000-01-05)5 January 2000 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| 99 | Arshdeep Singh | India | (1999-02-05)5 February 1999 (aged 24) | Left-handed | Left-arm fast-medium | Overseas player (County Championship, June–July) |
The following players featured in at least game while on loan from other counties: Toby Albert, Ben Geddes, Connor McKerr and Aron Nijjar.

## County Championship
### Division One

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | D | Bat | Bowl | Ded | Pts | |
| 1 | Surrey | 14 | 8 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 27 | 41 | 0 | 216 | |
| 2 | Essex | 14 | 7 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 25 | 39 | 0 | 196 | |
| 3 | Hampshire | 14 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 39 | 3 | 192 | |
| 4 | Warwickshire | 14 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 4 | 22 | 41 | 0 | 179 | |
| 5 | Lancashire | 14 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 29 | 35 | 1 | 161 | |
| 6 | Nottinghamshire | 14 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 6 | 18 | 39 | 0 | 151 | |
| 7 | Somerset | 14 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 7 | 25 | 40 | 0 | 148 | |
| 8 | Kent | 14 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 5 | 20 | 34 | 0 | 111 | |
| 9 | Middlesex | 14 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 39 | 1 | 104 | Relegation to Division 2 |
| 10 | Northamptonshire | 14 | 2 | 8 | 0 | 4 | 10 | 34 | 0 | 96 | Relegation to Division 2 |

## One-Day Cup
### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Ded | Pts | NRR | |
| 1 | Leicestershire | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1.302 | Advanced to the semi-finals |
| 2 | Hampshire | 8 | 7 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 1.048 | Advanced to the quarter-finals |
| 3 | Lancashire | 8 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 10 | 0.827 | Advanced to the quarter-finals |
| 4 | Kent | 8 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | −0.331 | |
| 5 | Nottinghamshire | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | −0.274 | |
| 6 | Yorkshire | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −1.051 | |
| 7 | Middlesex | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −0.104 | |
| 8 | Surrey | 8 | 2 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −1.250 | |
| 9 | Essex | 8 | 1 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | −0.774 | |

## T20 Blast
### South Group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR | |
| 1 | Somerset | 14 | 12 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 24 | 1.460 | Advanced to the quarter-finals |
| 2 | Hampshire Hawks | 14 | 9 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 0.820 | Advanced to the quarter-finals |
| 3 | Surrey | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 1.192 | Advanced to the quarter-finals |
| 4 | Essex Eagles | 14 | 8 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 0.088 | Advanced to the quarter-finals |
| 5 | Kent Spitfires | 14 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 14 | 0.287 | |
| 6 | Sussex Sharks | 14 | 6 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 12 | −0.871 | |
| 7 | Gloucestershire | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10 | −0.993 | |
| 8 | Glamorgan | 14 | 5 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 10 | −1.060 | |
| 9 | Middlesex | 14 | 3 | 11 | 0 | 0 | 6 | −0.932 | |