Canterbury, April 23 (IANS): Australian quick Xavier Bartlett has joined Kent for the first eight matches of the 2024 Vitality Blast after Cricket Australia blocked the fast bowler from playing for them in the County Championship. Bartlett will join fellow Australian seamer Wes Agar and South African Beyers Swanepoel as three overseas options for Kent's Blast campaign, which begins on May 31 against Middlesex at Chelmsford. Only two of them are permitted in any given playing XI.

In a statement released by Kent on Tuesday, director of cricket Simon Cook said, "We've been working extremely hard with Cricket Australia to ensure that Xavier can join us in some capacity this season, and we're really pleased to have secured his services for eight matches of our T20 campaign.

"He is hot property at the moment and fully deserves his new central contract with Australia. I know that Spitfires supporters around the world will be extremely excited that the BBL's top wicket-taker this Winter will be pulling on a Kent shirt this June."

Although Bartlett was initially signed for Kent's first five Championship games, CA denied him a No Objection Certificate on the eve of the season and a week after the 25-year-old was given a central contract. It was Bartlett's maiden national contract after an incredible Australian summer in which he headed the Big Bash League wickets list for Brisbane Heat with 20 and made his debuts in both ODI and T20I cricket.