Kent chairman Simon Philip has vowed “we will not allow our club to be rendered irrelevant” amid new proposals from the England and Wales Cricket Board.

The ECB's high-performance review suggests radical changes, which include dedicated windows for the One-Day Cup, T20 Blast and the Hundred.

Led by Sir Andrew Strauss, the review, which was released on Thursday having been launched after England's Ashes defeat in Australia, is aimed at improving the success of the England men's team. But Kent chairman Mr Philip has issued a strong statement to it.

He said: “The Strauss Review is a wide-ranging and comprehensive document. However, it should be remembered that it has been prepared through the prism of high-performance only.

“The two key areas for our club - domestic structure and scheduling - remain within the discretion of the 18 first-class counties.

"Within this group, we will now consider issues such as the needs of all our members, supporters, players and stakeholders, the financial impact, the unintended consequences and the possibly irrevocable change to the essential nature of County Cricket.

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“Kent Cricket is a fundamental part of our community, committed to supporting the growth of the Men’s and Women’s game at all levels.

“We continue to deliver success on the field, produce players for England and support one of the largest recreational and schools cricket populations in the country.

“We will not allow our club to be rendered irrelevant.”

Former England captain Strauss wants cricket fans to be open-minded about change. The ECB hopes the revised schedule will allow a greater balance between red and white-ball cricket, produce higher quality matches, ease the strain on players' workloads and better compete with franchise Twenty20 competitions such as the Indian Premier League.

Under the proposals, the start of the County Championship would move from April to May and run continuously throughout the summer months - rather than being split between the start and end of the summer as it is currently - and finish in September, teams playing a minimum of 10 games.

There would be two second division conferences of six teams, with one promotion place decided by an end-of-season play-off.

The One-Day Cup - with Kent having won the Royal London One-Day Cup at Trent Bridge just five days before the review was released - would take place in a single block in April and could include minor counties in an FA Cup-style knock-out format.

The T20 Blast would reduce from 14 matches to 10 and would also be in a single block from the end of May to end of July.

And The Hundred would be the only white-ball competition to take place in August, with “first-class cricket festivals” offering specialist red-ball players not competing in that competition the chance to play extra matches.

Any changes to the domestic structure have to be agreed by two-thirds of the 18 first-class counties. The ECB hopes to have a final decision by November with a view of implementing the changes in time for the 2024 season.

Strauss admits the proposals will not please everyone, particularly smaller counties who may fear a loss in revenue, but he is confident of reaching an agreement for the greater good of the game.

Kent this season have played in Division 1 of the County Championship and are fighting to avoid relegation.

They end their campaign at home to Somerset in their final red-ball game this term from Monday and arrangements have been made to celebrate the Kent career of departing legendary all-rounder Darren Stevens on Day Two.

In the lunch break, Stevens will be welcomed to the outfield for an interview and special club presentation.

Throughout Days One and Two of the fixture, a special ‘Stevo Day’ celebratory book will be placed inside the Kent Cricket shop for Kent members and supporters to write down their favourite Darren Stevens memories.

Mr Philip said: "Darren has been a truly outstanding servant of the club for seventeen summers.

"It is fitting that we mark his contribution in the company of our members and supporters, and we are looking forward to welcoming as many as possible to The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, on what promises to be a special day.”

At The Spitfire Ground in Canterbury this week, meanwhile, India beat England Women on Wednesday by 88 runs.