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Shortly after granting Xavier Bartlett his maiden national contract, Cricket Australia denied him a No-Objection Certificate (NOC) and prevented him from representing Kent in the County Championship.
In the Australian summer of 2023–24, Bartlett made headlines when he made his ODI and T20I debuts against the West Indies in February and finished first in the tournament with 20 wickets during the Brisbane Heat’s Big Bash League campaign. CA revealed last week that he has secured his first central contract as a result of his outstanding performances.
In order to control his workload, CA has refused to give him permission to participate in Kent’s first five Championship games of the season. Recently, Nathan Lyon’s time with Lancashire was cut short for the similar reason, however CA has refuted any role in Aaron Hardie’s decision to leave Surrey.
Kent is awaiting word on whether Bartlett will be ready for the T20 Blast competition, given his original contract included at least eight matches.
Simon Cook, Kent’s director of cricket, said: “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. This decision has potentially not ruled him out for the Vitality Blast, and we’re continuing to discuss our options with Cricket Australia.”
Beyers Swanepoel, an all-arounder from South Africa, has been signed by Kent in Bartlett’s place. The deal spans all formats and begins on May 1 and ends at the end of the 2024 season. Swanepoel, 25, will be participating in county cricket for the first time. He was a member of the Sunrisers Eastern Cape team that won the SA20 earlier this year.
“We’re really excited by the potential that Beyers has and what he can offer us this season,” Cook said. “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 allrounder who provides extra batting depth for us across all formats – a gap that we’ve looked to fill with our overseas players this year.”