[2] The invitation to take part in the tournament was largely due to the influence of former West Indian captain Jimmy Adams who had been Kent's Head Coach until September 2016.

[3] Former South African fast-bowler Allan Donald was announced as the new assistant coach, but his arrival was delayed while he worked towards the ECB level three qualification he required to gain the visa necessary to take up the role.

[9] Hardus Viljoen, who had a brief spell with Kent as an overseas player at the end of the 2016 season, signed a Kolpak deal with Derbyshire.

[17][18] Academy wicket-keeper Ollie Robinson made his senior debut for the county in the final match of the 2016–17 Regional Super50 tournament after being called into the touring squad as cover for Adam Rouse with Sam Billings away on England duty.

[22][23] Middlesex fast bowler James Harris followed as another loan signing in early April, initially for the first three County Championship matches and the first section of the 2017 Royal London One-Day Cup.

[24][25] On 10 April, Kent announced the signing of South African international left-arm fast bowler Wayne Parnell, who had previously played for the county during the 2009 season, as an overseas player on a short-term contract.

Parnell was available to play in the County Championship and Royal London One-Day Cup until he joined up with the South African national team when they began their tour of England in May.

[26][27] New Zealand fast bowler Adam Milne joined the team as an overseas player for the second half of the season after the conclusion of the ICC Champions Trophy that took place in England and Wales during the first half of June[28][29] and Pakistan leg-spinner Yasir Shah played two County Championship games during the middle of the season.

Group B included the other three regular teams of West Indian domestic cricket (Barbados, Guyana and Jamaica) and two development sides (Combined Campuses and Colleges and ICC Americas).

[34][35][36] Four consecutive losses saw the county knocked out of the tournament at the group stage before a win in their final match of the competition.

One match, against Derbyshire at Queen's Park, Chesterfield in September, was abandoned as a draw without a ball being bowled due to heavy rain and a wet outfield.

After an early elimination, the starting eleven increasingly featured fringe squad players, particularly in the bowling department, and academy graduate batsman Zak Crawley made his senior debut in the final match against Essex.

[44] In a very tight group, Kent went into the final game against Surrey needing a win to progress to the quarter-finals, but lost by 10 runs.