Club captain Sam Billings has been left out of Kent’s squad for their final away County Championship Division 1 match this season against Somerset.

Wicketkeeper Billings returned to Kent’s 14-man squad for their drawn four-day game against Nottinghamshire last week but didn’t play as Jack Leaning captained the side and Harry Finch retained the gloves.

The 32-year-old also won’t be involved at Taunton, with Kent’s game against Somerset starting from tomorrow.

Billings stepped down as Kent captain in four-day cricket for the rest of the season in June.

He hasn’t featured for Kent in the red-ball format since, although he skippered Oval Invincibles to success in The Hundred competition last month.

Earlier this month, Billings scored eight and a duck in a heavy Kent 2nds defeat to Essex 2nds. They used 10 bowlers - including Billings - in Essex’s innings, with Billings returning 0-25 from three overs.

Batsman Marcus O’Riordan returns to Kent’s 13-strong squad to face Somerset after recovering from a shoulder injury.

Arafat Bhuiyan and Jas Singh are added to their seam bowling options alongside veteran Michael Hogan.

New spin recruits left-armer Aron Nijjar, on loan from Essex, and India leg-spinner Yuzvendra Chahal are both included.

New Zealand bowler Ben Lister was originally scheduled to make his Kent debut against Somerset but sustained a hamstring injury playing for New Zealand against England last week. He has flown back to his home country for further assessment, meaning his time at Kent has been cut short before it started.

Opener Zak Crawley, set to captain England in a One-Day International series against Ireland which starts this week, is also unavailable while Jordan Cox (finger) and Hamid Qadri (calf) are out for the season and Italian international all-rounder Grant Stewart doesn’t feature, either.

Second-bottom Kent finish their 2023 campaign against Lancashire in Canterbury next week.

They sit two points behind third-bottom Middlesex and safety at present.

Kent: Leaning (C), Bhuiyan, Bell-Drummond, Chahal, Compton, Denly, Evison, Finch, Hogan, Muyeye, Nijjar, O’Riordan, Singh.