Kent to overlook men's Hundred stars for Royal London Cup final

The Spitfires have pledged to select their squad for the Trent Bridge final against Lancashire on September 17 from the group available for the entire competition

Kent will only consider players available for the whole of their Royal London Cup campaign for the final against Lancashire.

It means men's Hundred players Daniel Bell-Drummond, Zak Crawley, Fred Klaassen, Matt Milnes, Jack Leaning, Sam Billings and Jordan Cox will all be overlooked.

The Trent Bridge final takes place on September 17, three days before Pakistan and England contest the first of seven T20 internationals.

^{Sam Billings has agreed Kent' Hundred players will not be considered (Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)}

Captain Billings could be on the trip alongside Jordan Cox, who is reportedly set to be named in the travelling party on Friday (September 2). But the five who remain are not in the club's plans.

Director of cricket Paul Downton confirmed the stance after a unanimous decision was made between the coaching staff and Billings.

Joe Denly is set to remain as skipper as Kent embark on trying to win the competition for a third time, after victories in 1967 and 1974.

They reached their eighth final after beating Hampshire by three wickets in the semi-final at The Ageas Bowl on Tuesday (August 30).

^{Joe Denly is set to captain the side at Trent Bridge (Alex Pantling/Getty Images)}

Opponents Lancashire have been without seven players due to The Hundred but have not yet confirmed whether they will all be overlooked for selection.

Liam Livingstone, Jos Buttler, Matt Parkinson, Phil Salt, Richard Gleeson and Luke Wood may go to Pakistan, leaving spinner Tom Hartley theoretically free to feature.

Eventual winners Glamorgan took a similar position for last summer's final, sticking with the group that got them to the final. By contrast, Durham recalled Ben Raine and Matt Potts for their only tournament appearances, after losing Paul van Meekeren to the Caribbean Premier League.

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