New Zealand pacer Matt Henry’s contract with Kent Cricket for the first seven matches of this season’s County Championship has been mutually withdrawn due to the rapidly-spreading coronavirus pandemic.
The 28-year-old seamer was set to join Kent for a second stint after having played for the club in 2018 but a cricket shutdown in UK until May 28 due to the coronavirus outbreak meant he will no longer be able to play for the club this season. Henry becomes the fourth cricketer after Nathan Lyon, Cheteshwar Pujara and Michael Neser to miss out on a stint in county cricket this year.
Club statement said, “Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and disruption to the official start of the 2020 county cricket season, both the club and player have decided to cancel plans which would have seen Henry return to Kent for a second time. The Club continues to enjoy a good relationship with Matt. He has many friends here and the overwhelmingly positive feedback we received when we announced the he would return in 2020 is a measure of
Matt himself. He’s a fantastic person on and off the cricket field. We’d like to thank Matt for his understanding in difficult circumstances. Hopefully another opportunity will arise in the near future which will allow him to join us once again.”
Henry had a highly productive stint with the club in 2018, claiming 75 wickets from 11 matches to help the side win promotion to the first division of the Championship.
