Sidelined Sandwich Town Cricket Club skipper Jan Gray says his absence due to fractured wrist won’t weaken Kent Cricket League Premier Division team much this year

Sidelined Sandwich Town skipper Jan Gray insists his absence won’t weaken the side much this summer.

They get their 2024 Kent League Premier Division season under way with a trip to champions Lordswood on Saturday.

But they will do so without former Kent second-team leg-spinner Gray on the field.

He has fractured his wrist with the multi-talented Tom Chapman, who helped Deal win the Southern Counties East Premier Division in the 2023/24 football season, set to captain the side.

With experienced Sri Lankan all-rounder Roshan Jayatissa their first-team overseas player and South African Jared Southgate due to be with the 2nds, Gray said: “I don’t think that it’s a huge weakening of our side, really, if at all.

“Roshan is an off-spinner and we have got about seven or eight people that can bowl overs in the first team.

“It lengthens our batting, as well, so I don’t think it’s going to be an issue from a performance point of view.

“It will be disappointing for me but I’ll be around to help out in any way I can.

“I don’t think they will miss me at all. They’ll probably be relieved to not have me yelling in their ears!”

Gray could be out for up to 12 weeks - potentially the majority of the campaign.

He said: “I fell off my bicycle - very silly!

“Luckily, I was wearing a helmet. I did bang my head but that wasn’t badly hurt.

“I hurt my wrist. They said it was a sprain at A&E, but then I found out about a month ago that it’s actually quite a bad fracture.

“They took my wrist apart on Saturday.”

While Gray is unlikely to be able to contribute much on the field, he intends to be around as much as he can be at The Butts ground to provide support.

He said: “I don’t think I would be playing any cricket at all if it wasn’t for Sandwich.