Jamie Clifford plays down Kent's England ambitions Picture: Barry Goodwin

by Andrew Gidley

Kent chief executive Jamie Clifford has ruled out the prospect of the county joining the bidding process to stage one-day international cricket at the St Lawrence Ground.

The county hosted England Women’s t20 international against India last month, and welcome the South African tourists to Canterbury on Friday, but Mr Clifford says they have to be "realistic in our ambitions" due to a combination of reasons.

"We have to be mindful of where we are, being so close to Lord’s and The Oval, and I think we would have to do something extraordinary to bring England here," said Mr Clifford.

"There are also only so many games to go around the 10 grounds, and Taunton are now trying to get on the list as well. There is also a risk attached to hosting fixtures like that including selling-out the games, and our capacity is probably a bit too small.

"We welcomed the England Women’s team here recently, and have played host to Australia, India, Pakistan and now South Africa, and matches of this nature are very important to the club."

Kent are expecting a crowd of around 4,000 for the first two days of the three-day friendly, while mindful of a poor weather forecast. Play starts at 11am each day.

The county were delighted with a crowd in excess of 4,000 for the final home t20 game of the season against Essex Eagles at Canterbury last Friday. Around 1,500 tickets were sold online on the afternoon of the game, once the rain cleared.

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