KENT all-rounder Justin Kemp is one of five overseas cricketers to have had their player registrations revoked by the England and Wales Cricket Board following their involvement in the rebel Indian Cricket League.

This winter the former South Africa Test player signed up for a seven-week stint with Hyderabad Heroes a month after signing a two-year Kolpak deal to return for a third stint of championship cricket with Kent.

But the deal to bring the tall, hard-hitting right-hander back to St Lawrence now hangs in the balance after the ECB’s decision not verify Kemp’s registration.

In a short, four-line press release issue Thursday evening the Board announced their monumental decision that they were effectively preventing Kemp, Wavell Hinds (Derbyshire), Johannes van der Wath (Northamptonshire), Andrew Hall (Northamptonshire) and Hamish Marshall (Gloucestershire) from playing county cricket this summer.

In an equally brief response Kent issued a statement saying: “The Club intends to make further representations to the ECB in an effort to secure Kemp’s registration in time for the start of the forthcoming season.”

The only bright spot for Kent is that their other winter signing, former Pakistan and Surrey all-rounder Azhar Mahmood, has been granted ECB registration even though he too is playing ICL cricket.

Just hours before the ECB took their stance Kent’s new chairman George Kennedy gave his view on the sub-continent franchise clubs who are threatening to undermine the domestic game in England.

Though Mr Kennedy sees potential litigation issues over restraint of trade, he also believes that English cricket may well ultimately benefit from taking a fresh look at itself.

He said: “If you look back to the days of Kerry Packer, there’s no doubt that he gave the establishment a bloody nose by shaking the game up in the way he did.

“I wasn’t involved in cricket in those days, but in many ways I feel the game needs a bit of a shake up from time to time to make the administrators take another look at things.”

Mr Kennedy added: “That’s happening again now with the rebel Indian leagues and two of our players (Justin Kemp and Azhar Mahmood) are right in the middle of things.

“Twenty20 cricket started in the UK, yet we’re letting it drift overseas and into other hands with big money, but if we want big money in the game over here then we have to get involved and get into it.

“I received an email from new ECB chairman Giles Clark congratulating me on my appointment as Kent chairman the other day, he added ‘Don’t hesitate to contact me’. You can rest assured this is one topic I will be speaking to him about very soon.

“If the seasons don’t clash I see no harm in it. I had to work all year round; most people have to, why shouldn’t cricketers?”