Joe Denly is set to make his first appearance of the summer for Kent in their home Bob Willis Trophy game against Middlesex.

He has returned to the county squad after being released from England's bio-secure bubble, having originally been part of the Test squad before transferring to the ODI camp. A back injury meant Denly missed out against Ireland.

Kent head into the game after two exciting matches behind them in the inaugural competition, losing out to 2019 County champions Essex in an exciting finish and then breaking records on the way to beating Sussex in their second match.

Jordan Cox unfortunately has to miss out after a breach of Covid-19 protocol after his double century last week while Heino Kuhn remains unavailable for personal reasons.

Cox shared a club record 423-run partnership with Jack Leaning in the win but broke social distancing rules after having a selfie with a fan. He must now self-isolate.

New signing Nathan Gilchrist is also named in the 16-man squad. The 20-year-old has yet to make his first class debut but Kent believe they have a signed a real prospect.

Director of cricket Paul Downton is confident that their new addition will become a significant cricketer for the county.

Like Kent, who sit second behind Essex in the south group, Middlesex have won one and lost one of their two games in the competition. The visitors to Canterbury suffered a three-wicket defeat to Hampshire in their last outing.

Squad: Sam Billings (Captain), Daniel Bell-Drummond, Joe Denly, Nathan Gilchrist, Tim Groenewald, Calum Haggett, Fred Klaassen, Jack Leaning, Matt Milnes, Marcus O'Riordan, Harry Podmore, Hamidullah Qadri, Ollie Robinson, Darren Stevens, Grant Stewart, Ivan Thomas.

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