Covid Forces Entire Kent Team To Self-Isolate Ahead Of Sussex Fixture

Cricket Image for Covid Forces Entire Kent Team To Self-Isolate Ahead Of Surrey Fixture (Image Source: Google)

English County side Kent were on Sunday hit by Covid-19 with one of their players testing positive for the virus, forcing the club to put the entire team -- which had played at the Kia Oval on July 9 against Surrey -- in self-isolation for 10 days.

The Club confirmed that a full new squad would be named for Sunday's LV= Insurance County Championship match against Sussex and the two forthcoming Vitality Blast matches against Middlesex and Sussex Sharks.

"Following a PCR test administered yesterday (July 10), Kent Cricket can confirm that one unnamed member of Kent's Men's First XI squad has tested positive for COVID-19.

"In collaboration with Public Health England and the England & Wales Cricket Board, the player impacted will now observe a period of self-isolation, beginning from 10 July, following UK Government's protocol on quarantining.

"The remaining members of Kent Spitfires' Vitality Blast squad that played on Friday night (July 9) at the Kia Oval have been deemed close contacts and are therefore also required to self-isolate for ten days," the statement said.

"The Club can confirm that a full squad will be named for today's LV= Insurance County Championship match against Sussex and the two forthcoming Vitality Blast matches against Middlesex and Sussex Sharks."

Heino Kuhn will take on the captaincy duties and the full squad for Sunday's match will be announced shortly, said the statement.

"Incoming squad members, made up of Kent Second XI players and homegrown prospects, will follow usual testing protocols to ensure safe entry into the Championship squad, and will have the opportunity to impress in competitive first-class cricket."

Kent CEO, Simon Storey, said: "With the emergence of the Delta variant and recent release in lock down restrictions, the Club has been conscious of the increased possibility of an outbreak."

"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."