Kent club captain Sam Billings not named in squad for County Championship Division 1 match against Somerset at Taunton

Club captain Sam Billings has been left out of Kent’s squad for their final County Championship Division 1 away match this season against Somerset.

Wicketkeeper Billings returned to Kent’s 14-strong squad for their drawn four-day game against Nottinghamshire last week but didn’t play as Jack Leaning captained the side and Harry Finch retained the gloves.

The 32-year-old also won’t be involved at Taunton, with Kent’s game against Somerset starting from tomorrow.

Billings stepped down as Kent captain in four-day cricket for the rest of the season in June after a miserable 2023 with the bat.

He hasn’t featured for Kent in the red-ball format since, although he did skipper Oval Invincibles to success in The Hundred last month.

Earlier this month, Billings scored eight and a duck in a heavy Kent 2nds defeat to Essex 2nds. They used 10 bowlers - including Billings - in Essex’s innings, with Billings returning 0-25 from three overs.

Batsman Marcus O’Riordan returns to the Kent squad to face Somerset after recovering from a shoulder injury.

Arafat Bhuiyan and Jas Singh are added to the squad’s seam bowling options alongside veteran Michael Hogan.

New spin recruits left-armer Aron Nijjar, on loan from Essex, and India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal are both included in Kent’s 13-strong squad.

New Zealand seam bowler Ben Lister was originally scheduled to make his Kent debut against Somerset but sustained a hamstring injury playing for New Zealand against England last week. He has flown back to New Zealand for further assessment, meaning his time at Kent has been cut short.

Opener Zak Crawley, set to captain England in a One-Day International series against Ireland which starts this week, is also unavailable while Jordan Cox