Sri Lanka in town for warm-up

Kent will welcome a touring Sri Lankan party to the Spitfire Ground for a four-day match in May.

It will be the first competitive game in Sri Lanka development squad’s tour of England this year and will provide an opportunity for their players to gain invaluable match experience in English conditions.

The four-day, firstclass encounter in Canterbury will start on Friday, May 6.

The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, will be the first ground to host the Sri Lankan team during their six-match touring schedule.

Entry will be complimentary for all 2022 Kent members while tickets will be available from Tuesday, March 8.

Kent and Sri Lankan representative sides have played eight times previously, most recently in a 128-run defeat for Kent to a full Sri Lanka one-day side in 2014.

Kent seamer Robbie Joseph ended the match with figures of 4-58.

The county have also announced that they will be playing three two-day matches in preparation for the 2022 red-ball season during March.

Kent will take on fellow County Championship Division 1 opposition in Warwickshire and Lancashire at the Spitfire Ground, while they also have an away trip to Merchant Taylors’ School to play against Middlesex. Pre-season matches will span a 10-day period from March 21 until March 31. Provided there is no change to government guidance, both home matches will have spectators permitted and entry to the ground will be free.

Kent will start their Division 1 campaign away to Essex on Thursday, April

7, before the first competitive cricket at Canterbury this year comes from Thursday, April 14 with a fourday match against Lancashire.