Kent have been forced to emulate the England men's team in naming a brand-new squad for this week's LV= County Championship fixture against Sussex at Canterbury, after one of their players tested positive for Covid-19.
The player, who has not been named, returned a positive result following a PCR test on the eve of the match on Saturday, meaning that each of the squad members who featured alongside him in Kent's Vitality Blast fixture at the Kia Oval on Friday will now be required to self-isolate for a period of ten days.
Heino Kuhn, who was not a part of Kent's nine-wicket win over Surrey, has been named as captain for the Sussex fixture, the start of which was delayed by an hour as the club set about assembling a new line-up for the fixture, comprising second XI players and homegrown prospects, all of whom were required to follow the usual testing protocols prior to their selection.
Four players were handed first-class debuts - Joe Gordon, Harry Houillon, Dan Lincoln and Jas Singh - while former Sussex batter Harry Finch, who has been playing for Kent's 2nd XI, gets a chance against his old club. Regular members of the Championship side, Harry Podmore, Matt Quinn, Nathan Gilchrist and Marcus O'Riordan, were all included.
"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.
"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."