Tredwell replaces injured Morgan as England Twenty20 captain against New Zealand

Earlier this afternoon we confirmed that Kent’s James Tredwell will captain England tonight in their second Twenty20 match against New Zealand at The Kia Oval.

Tredwell will captain the side in the absence of Eoin Morgan after he was ruled out due to an injury to his right hand. Tredwell will be the latest Kent player to lead his national team, after a wait of nearly 25 years since Chris Cowdrey captained the Test team in the West Indies in July 1988.

James Tredwell commented; “It is a great honour that I will lead out the team this evening. Firstly to have had the opportunity to play for England, now to captain the team is something you dream of. Hopefully as a group we can go one better than Tuesday.”

England need victory this evening to share the T20 rubber after the Black Caps’ five-run win in Tuesday’s high-scoring opener at the same venue.

Kent Cricket CEO Jamie Clifford commented on the news; “This is brilliant news and a fantastic achievement for James. We all wish him and the England squad the very best for the match tonight and I know that all in Kent will be delighted that he captains the side. The Kent squad get their Friends Life t20 campaign up and running on Friday and it will be great to have James back with us to lead our campaign.”

Send Kent Cricket your good luck messages for Treddy and we will pass them on. Tweet us @kentcricket or email feedback.kent@ecb.co.uk

Don’t miss the Kent Spitfires in action in the Friends Life t20 at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence. The campaign gets under way this Friday, with five home matches during June and July. Secure your tickets and be part of the action – click here to save with advance purchase tickets:

• Kent v Middlesex, Friday 28th June – Spitfire Boys’ Night out with 1,000 pints of Spitfire up for grabs, plus 1,000 packets of Kent Crisps.

• Kent v Surrey, Sunday 30th June – our only afternoon/family day with ‘Kids for a Quid’

• Kent v Essex, Friday 5th July – it’s the Girls’ turn, with Limoncello Girls’ Night out and 500 drinks available, plus 500 packets of Kent Crisps.

• Kent v Sussex, Wednesday 24th July – let’s beat the neighbours

• Kent v Hampshire, Monday 29th July – to celebrate the final, scheduled home match we are offering six tickets for the price of four!