# Kent County Cricket Club in 2021

In 2021 Kent County Cricket Club competed in the 2021 County Championship, the 2021 One-Day Cup and the 2021 T20 Blast. The season was the fifth in charge for head coach, and former player, Matthew Walker. Sam Billings retained the club captaincy that he was first awarded in 2018. Daniel Bell-Drummond was named as vice-captain, replacing Joe Denly. Jack Leaning was named as captain for the One-Day Cup.
As a result of Brexit, the ECB confirmed that all Kolpak contracts would be terminated after the 2020 season. Counties were instead able to field two overseas players in all formats. Heino Kuhn, who had been contracted to Kent under a Kolpak deal, was, as a result, counted as an overseas player for this season.
On 18 September, during the T20 Blast Finals day at Edgbaston, Kent defeated Sussex in the semi-final. In the final, Kent defeated Somerset by 25 runs to win the tournament for a second time. This was the first trophy for the county since winning the 2007 Twenty20 Cup.

## Squad
### Departures

All-rounder Calum Haggett and bowler Ivan Thomas were both released by the club after their contracts expired at the end of the 2020 season.
On 20 May, 27-year-old left-arm spin bowler Imran Qayyum announced his retirement from all cricket due to a shoulder injury. On 20 July, bowler Tim Groenewald retired from professional cricket following ankle surgery in April.

### Arrivals

In March 2021, Kent announced the signing of West Indian international fast bowler Miguel Cummins for the first eight matches of the County Championship. Zimbabwean born batsman Tawanda Muyeye, who qualifies as a domestic player having been educated at Eastbourne College, signed his first professional contract with the club on 31 March 2021. Muyeye was voted the Young Wisden Schools Cricketer of the Year in the 2020 edition of the almanack.
On 20 April, Kent announced the signing of former Pakistan international fast bowler Mohammad Amir for the second half of the T20 Blast. On 8 June, however, it was confirmed that Amir would be unable to join up with the squad due to rescheduling of the Pakistan Super League and COVID-19-related travel restrictions. New Zealand bowler Adam Milne was announced as a replacement for Amir, with Milne returning for a fourth spell with the county.
On 5 May, following a number of injuries to bowlers, Kent announced the loan signing of New Zealand-born Matt Quinn from Essex for their next four Championship matches. On 16 June, Quinn signed a three-year contract to join the county from 2022 and also rejoined on loan for the remainder of the 2021 season.
On 12 May, Kent announced the signing of Afghanistan leg spin bowler Qais Ahmad for the T20 Blast. On 9 June, Kent signed left-arm spin bowler James Logan on a short-term contract. Logan signed a two-year contract extension on 27 June.
After an unnamed played tested positive for COVID-19, all players who were in the squad for the T20 Blast match against Surrey on 9 July were forced to self-isolate. Kent called up a number of second team players and signed other homegrown players to join the remainder of the senior squad for a Championship game against Sussex; Joe Gordon, Harry Houillon, Dan Lincoln, Jas Singh and Bailey Wightman all made their first-class debuts, and Harry Finch played his first game for Kent against his former team. Kent signed three Scotland international players – Calum MacLeod, George Munsey and Safyaan Sharif – to strengthen the squad for the last two matches of the T20 Blast group stage. Elliot Hooper also made his Kent debut in the T20 Blast fixture against Middlesex, having previously played a single first-class game for Sussex. Munsey was also named in the squad for the One-Day Cup.

### Squad list

* Ages given as of the first day of the County Championship, 8 April 2021.
| No. | Name | Nationality | Birth date | Batting style | Bowling style | Notes |
| Batsmen |||||||
| 4 | Heino Kuhn | South Africa | (1984-04-01)1 April 1984 (aged 37) | Right-handed | — | Overseas player |
| 6 | Joe Denly | England | (1986-03-16)16 March 1986 (aged 35) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | |
| 10 | Alex Blake | England | (1989-01-25)25 January 1989 (aged 32) | Left-handed | Right-arm off break | White-ball contract only |
| 13 | Joe Gordon | England | (2002-05-18)18 May 2002 (aged 18) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 14 | Tawanda Muyeye | Zimbabwe | (2001-03-05)5 March 2001 (aged 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | Qualifies as a domestic player |
| 16 | Zak Crawley | England | (1998-02-03)3 February 1998 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 23 | Daniel Bell-Drummond | England | (1993-08-03)3 August 1993 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | Vice-captain |
| 25 | Dan Lincoln | England | (1995-05-26)26 May 1995 (aged 25) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 34 | Jack Leaning | England | (1993-10-18)18 October 1993 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium/off break | |
| 72 | Harry Finch | England | (1995-02-10)10 February 1995 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| 93 | George Munsey | Scotland | (1993-02-21)21 February 1993 (aged 28) | Left-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | One-Day Cup and two T20s only |
| All-rounders |||||||
| 3 | Darren Stevens | England | (1976-04-30)30 April 1976 (aged 44) | Right-handed | Right arm medium | |
| 9 | Grant Stewart | Australia | (1994-02-19)19 February 1994 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | EU passport |
| 55 | Marcus O'Riordan | England | (1998-01-25)25 January 1998 (aged 23) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
| Wicket-keepers |||||||
| 7 | Sam Billings | England | (1991-06-15)15 June 1991 (aged 29) | Right-handed | — | Club captain |
| 21 | Ollie Robinson | England | (1998-12-01)1 December 1998 (aged 22) | Right-handed | — | |
| 22 | Jordan Cox | England | (2000-10-21)21 October 2000 (aged 20) | Right-handed | — | |
| Bowlers |||||||
| 1 | Harry Podmore | England | (1994-07-23)23 July 1994 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium | |
| 8 | Matt Milnes | England | (1994-07-29)29 July 1994 (aged 26) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | |
| 11 | Imran Qayyum | England | (1993-05-23)23 May 1993 (aged 27) | Right-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | Retired on 20 May |
| 17 | Nathan Gilchrist | South Africa | (2000-06-11)11 June 2000 (aged 20) | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | UK passport |
| 20 | Adam Milne | New Zealand | (1992-04-13)13 April 1992 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast | Overseas player; T20 Blast only |
| 18 | Fred Klaassen | Netherlands | (1992-11-13)13 November 1992 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Left-arm medium-fast | |
| 27 | James Logan | England | (1997-10-12)12 October 1997 (aged 23) | Left-handed | Slow left-arm orthodox | |
| 32 | Qais Ahmad | Afghanistan | (2000-08-15)15 August 2000 (aged 20) | Right-handed | Right-arm leg break | Overseas player; T20 Blast only |
| 34 | Tim Groenewald | England | (1984-01-10)10 January 1984 (aged 37) | Right-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Retired on 20 July |
| 41 | Miguel Cummins | West Indies | (1990-09-05)5 September 1990 (aged 30) | Left-handed | Right-arm fast-medium | Overseas player |
| 64 | Matt Quinn | New Zealand | (1993-02-28)28 February 1993 (aged 28) | Right-handed | Right-arm medium-fast | On loan from Essex; UK passport |
| 75 | Hamidullah Qadri | England | (2000-01-05)5 January 2000 (aged 21) | Right-handed | Right-arm off break | |
The following second team players and short-term signings also featured in matches, but were not members of the long-term squad during the season: Harry Houillon, Calum MacLeod, Safyaan Sharif, Jas Singh, Elliot Hooper and Bailey Wightman.

## County Championship

The County Championship returned in 2021 after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic had forced its cancellation in 2020. The tournament was contested in a new format, replacing the two division structure. For the first phase of the tournament, teams were split into three groups of six. Kent were placed in Group 3 where they played ten matches against their opponents on a home and away basis. The top two teams from each group advanced to Division One for the second phase of the competition (where a further four matches will be played), with the other teams progressing to Divisions Two and Three. The team that finished top of Division One would be the county champions; the top two teams from Division One would then contest a five-day match at Lord's for the Bob Willis Trophy.

### Group 3

| Team | Pld | W | L | T | D | A | Bat | Bowl | Ded | PCF | Pts | Qualification |
| Lancashire | 10 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 0 | 22 | 24 | 0 | 0 | 150 | Qualification for Division One |
| Yorkshire | 10 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 14 | 23 | 0 | 0 | 149 | Qualification for Division One |
| Glamorgan | 10 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 0 | 18 | 29 | 0 | 0 | 127 | Qualification for Division Two |
| Northamptonshire | 10 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 22 | 21 | 0 | 0 | 123 | Qualification for Division Two |
| Kent | 10 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 0 | 15 | 26 | 0 | 0 | 97 | Qualification for Division Three |
| Sussex | 10 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 18 | 28 | 0 | 0 | 94 | Qualification for Division Three |

### Division 3

| Teamvte | Pld | W | L | T | D | A | Bat | Bowl | Ded | PCF | Pts |
| Kent | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 11 | 94 |
| Middlesex | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 12 | 0 | 13 | 80 |
| Worcestershire | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 12 | 0 | 18.5 | 67.5 |
| Leicestershire | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 10 | 0 | 11.5 | 54.5 |
| Derbyshire | 4 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 8 | 10 | 0 | 9.5 | 51.5 |
| Sussex | 4 | 0 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 0 | 12 | 30 |

## One-Day Cup

Due to the inaugural season of The Hundred being played at the same time, many of the top county cricketers were unavailable to play in the One-Day Cup. As well as several first-team players, Kent Head Coach Matt Walker was involved in The Hundred as Assistant Coach for the Oval Invincibles. Simon Cook took over as Interim Head Coach, Jack Leaning was named captain, and Ollie Robinson was named vice-captain for the tournament. Leaning was selected by the Trent Rockets as short-term cover for Steven Mullaney, meaning that he would miss games against Sussex and Essex, with Robinson taking over as captain.

### Group A

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Ded | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | Durham | 8 | 6 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 13 | 0.921 |
| 2 | Essex | 8 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 11 | 0.238 |
| 3 | Gloucestershire | 7 | 4 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 8 | 0.094 |
| 4 | Lancashire | 8 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 0.014 |
| 5 | Worcestershire | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0.256 |
| 6 | Hampshire | 8 | 3 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 0.161 |
| 7 | Sussex | 8 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 6 | −0.689 |
| 8 | Middlesex | 7 | 2 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 5 | −0.286 |
| 9 | Kent | 8 | 1 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 4 | −1.258 |
* ↑ Middlesex's match scheduled to play against Gloucestershire (8 August) was cancelled due to COVID-19. As a result, the Group A qualifications were decided on an average points per completed match basis.

## T20 Blast
### South Group

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | L | T | NR | Pts | NRR |
| 1 | Kent Spitfires | 14 | 9 | 4 | 0 | 1 | 19 | 0.657 |
| 2 | Somerset | 14 | 8 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 18 | 0.371 |
| 3 | Sussex Sharks | 14 | 6 | 3 | 0 | 5 | 17 | 0.479 |
| 4 | Hampshire Hawks | 14 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0.388 |
| 5 | Surrey | 14 | 6 | 5 | 0 | 3 | 15 | 0.332 |
| 6 | Gloucestershire | 14 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 14 | 0.201 |
| 7 | Essex Eagles | 14 | 5 | 8 | 0 | 1 | 11 | −0.468 |
| 8 | Middlesex | 14 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 1 | 9 | −0.389 |
| 9 | Glamorgan | 14 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 2 | 8 | −1.371 |