A South African all-rounder has agreed to join Kent on an all-format deal - to replace Xavier Bartlett.

Beyers Swanepoel, 25, will be available from May 1 until the end of the season.

He will miss Kent’s first three County Championship Division 1 matches this summer but could make his debut against Lancashire at Old Trafford from Friday, May 3.

Swanepoel’s impending arrival was announced by Kent on Thursday afternoon as part of an overseas reshuffle on the eve of the season.

Cricket Australia declined to issue a No Objection Certificate (NOC) in order to manage now centrally-contracted fast bowler Bartlett’s workload after a busy winter, in which he featured heavily in the T20 Big Bash League and The Sheffield Shield, as well as making T20 and One-Day International debuts for Australia.

Kent director of cricket Simon Cook said Cricket Australia’s decision hadn’t come as a shock while he also revealed they had “looked very carefully” at signing Swanepoel earlier in 2024.

“We’re really excited by the potential that Beyers has and what he can offer us this season,” explained Cook, who initially had hoped to have Bartlett available to play the majority of red-ball and white-ball cricket at the start of the season.

“We looked very carefully at him earlier in the year but, at that stage, he hadn’t played the required games to qualify as a viable overseas signing for us.

“He’s a genuine all-rounder who provides extra batting depth for us across all formats - a gap that we’ve looked to fill with our overseas players this year.

“Xavier Bartlett’s steep rise has been great to see. National boards are always going to protect their best assets, so it wasn‘t a shock when we received news from Cricket Australia that they would be withdrawing his NOC.

“We were able to work quickly to secure Beyers’ signature as he was in demand from other counties in similar situations.

“We’re all looking forward to welcoming Beyers to Kent.”

While Kent’s statement said 25-year-old Bartlett wouldn’t feature in the County Championship, there was no mention of his T20 Blast availability.

Swanepoel, meanwhile, has more than 1,000 runs and 100 wickets in his 33-match first-class career, with 127 wickets at an average of only 19.28. That includes seven five-wicket hauls.

The left-handed batsman also has a first-class century and averages 27.05 with the bat in red-ball cricket.

An SA20 winner with Sunrisers Eastern Cape in 2023/24, Swanepoel won Best Men’s Bowler Awards at Cricket Eastern Cape in 2023 across all three formats.

He has 77 career wickets in 60 appearances with his right-arm fast bowling, combined with white-ball cricket.

Swanepoel, who previously has played as a sub-professional for Elworth in the North Staffs and South Cheshire League, said: “I’m absolutely thrilled to join a historic county side, such as Kent, and to play in all formats of the English county game.

“I hope to learn a lot while I’m here amongst a very talented squad.

“I spoke to former Kent overseas players before I signed and they couldn’t recommend Kent highly enough as a place to come and improve my game in English conditions.

“I can’t wait to put on the Kent shirt and perform to the best of my abilities this summer.”

Australian fast bowler Wes Agar is in the UK and selected in Kent’s 13-man squad to face Somerset at Canterbury - but new bowler Michael Cohen has ALREADY been ruled out for the season.

He has a stress fracture in his back and a Kent spokesman said: “We wish Mikey all the best in his recovery with the club’s doctors and physios.”

All-rounder Grant Stewart (calf) and seam bowler Matt Quinn (back) aren’t fit enough to feature, either.

Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond and vice-skipper Jack Leaning are available, although England international Zak Crawley also misses Kent’s first two matches of this summer on ECB advice.

Squad: Bell-Drummond, Agar, Bhuiyan, Compton, Denly, Evison, Finch, Garrett, Gilchrist, Leaning, Muyeye, Parkinson, Singh.