Daily Times

LONDON: English county Kent has signed Australian quick Wes Agar for four LV= Insurance County Championship matches while they await the arrival of India’s Arshdeep Singh. Agar, the 26-year-old right-arm fast bowler who has made two ODI appearances for his country, represented Australia A against New Zealand A, dismissing three of the opposition’s top-order batters on his way to innings figures of 4 for 56 earlier this month. In the past two years, Agar has taken 41 wickets in 11 first-class matches. He was named the Bradman Young Cricketer of the Year in 2020, awarded to Australia’s most promising first-class player under the age of 24.

Agar will be available to play until May 21, covering home matches against Essex and Hampshire and away fixtures with Middlesex at Lord’s and Surrey at The Kia Oval before Arshdeep arrives in June. “This is an exciting new challenge for me,” Agar said. “Playing county cricket has always been a dream of mine and I’m excited to be a Kent player and thankful for the opportunity. With a win already under our belt this year, I hope to be a part of more victories in my time here.”

Kent defeated Northamptonshire in their opening match of the season last week while their ongoing Division One clash at Warwickshire was one of several Championship games delayed by rain on the second morning on Friday, with the hosts 367 for 3 overnight after being sent in to bat and punishing a depleted attack missing injured seamers Nathan Gilchrist and Grant Stewart. Matt Quinn, the New Zealand quick also broke down early in his new-ball spell before returning to action after the lunch break. Kent recently announced that they had signed Arshdeep for five Championship matches between June 11 and July 28. He and Agar join Kane Richardson, the Australia pace bowler who will play in the Vitality Blast, and South African spin-bowling allrounder George Linde, who is in the second half of his two-year all-format deal, as overseas players at the club.