These days cricketers spend much of the winter, certainly after Christmas, getting ready for the new season. Footballers have a long summer pre-season period before the season starts.
I imagine back then that players who played both sports went straight from one to the other, then back again! Fitness wouldn't be a problem, but after 8 months kicking a football, I imagine your batting and bowling will be a bit rusty...
These days if you are any good at either sport and tied to a Pro academy they usually make you give up any others at quite a young age. Pity really, i wonder how many budding footballers have given up cricket opportunities just to be released before they get a decent pro career.
A couple players, in the same Kent age group side as Zac Crawley, probably made the right decisions - Ben Earl, the England international, committed to rugby at 16 as did Nathan Baxter, former Chelsea Academy and current Bolton number one keeper, at the same age. There comes a point when they have to do that although I do agree that some do that when they are too young to make an informed decision as to which way to go although if one thinks about it, rationally, only two every three years from the Kent Academy are likely to make a pro so the chances aren't that great of doing so even if you make it that far.
Update from the Kent CEO, Simon Storey below. The two things I've taken from this is that we are close to signing another overseas recruit for the early part of the season and that TW's issues are, as I indicated previously, the upgrading of the facilities and the quality of the pitch itself. While these are not "insurmountable" the indication is that finances are driving the viability of utilising the ground once again.
The Spitfires will begin final preparations for the 2024 season with an away trip to Merchant Taylors’ School in Hertfordshire to face Middlesex on Monday 25 & Tuesday 26 March, followed by a journey to the Kia Oval in South London to face Surrey on Thursday 28 & Friday 29 March. Both matches will be free entry to all.
Kent’s first home foray of the 2024 Summer will then be a three-day match against Loughborough UCCE in Canterbury on Sunday 31 March until Tuesday 2 April.
Someone has said that Xavier Bartlett is the second overseas signing for the beginning of the season. Wes Agar and Bartlett would be a useful pairing but can't find any confirmation anywhere. Would make sense though given that he played with Billings for the Brisbane Heat.
Squad now up to 23 with almost half of those seamers - a whole XI in fact! I suppose that you can never have too many quicks but we are quite top heavy in that regard specifically for the Blast Group stage where one would have though that the likes of Klaassen, Agar, Bartlett and Evison will be automatic selections (along with Parkinson plus Denly and Leaning as spinners):
Agar and Bartlett certainly strengthens our seam attack, which has suffered from an excess of quantity over quality.
It's really hard to keep up with the overseas players now, or get that invested really, as their stays are so short. This is a global issue, with players going from franchise to franchise.
Accepting that Crawley might be missing (although if he wants to put his name in the hat for England white ball then he does need to play if available) but this Blast XI looks quite exciting - on paper and assuming that the players play to the best of their ability anyway:
Great ambition from Kent to try and make 3rd London franchise for The Hundred, by purchases Beckenham and turning it to a state of art cricket facility.
Great ambition from Kent to try and make 3rd London franchise for The Hundred, by purchases Beckenham and turning it to a state of art cricket facility.
Yes. Realised that to change from a County CC with one ground to one with the aim of providing cricket chances (playing and watching) to all as required by the ECB, brings big costs eg second ground, more teams, more community work etc, that can only be funded by big investors from home and abroad through the vehicle of the hundred.
And of course big money for the executives.
Good or bad? Who knows? But certainly not the same eg no meaningful County Cricket in August.
Zak, DBD, Billings, Muyeye and Klaassen all retained in the 100.
Interestingly Ollie Robinson is in the Northern Superchargers squad, making his previous omission from our Blast side all the more dubious.
Seb had a good chat with Ollie recently when they bumped into each other in Sidcup High Street. Ollie was with his fiancée and seems very happy about life - he said he was getting ready to leave for Zimbabwe with Durham for their pre-season tour. He really is a great lad and it is regrettable for us that he left when he did but, actually, for his cricket it is the best decision he could have made at the time - we can argue that he would be in both our CC and Blast teams right now and that might well have been the case but, had he stayed, he would always have felt under the constant pressure of proving himself given the competition from both Billings and Cox. At Durham he has been able to go out and perform with the freedom of knowing that he is their number one. We can only hope that, in a couple of years time, he will be back performing in our colours once again.
So the first game of the season starts tomorrow - a two day friendly against Middlesex at Merchant Taylors' School. Got to feel sorry for players having to play in temperatures of 10 degrees!
So the first game of the season starts tomorrow - a two day friendly against Middlesex at Merchant Taylors' School. Got to feel sorry for players having to play in temperatures of 10 degrees!
At least it should be more or less dry tomorrow, with the rain during the last month and forecast this week...
The scorecard and videos of boundaries/wickets below. The village nature of the game is evidenced by Singh taking a wicket in Quinn's shirt and DBD covered from foot to toe as if he's come straight off the set of "The Mummy"!!!
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https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/club-update-spring-2024-part-1/?utm_source=Klaviyo&utm_medium=campaign&_kx=lbmgSzcpLXbRGFQo-NqCcK-iBDOcTUbfTTWNhLYI0n9xy13z-OtrWNp1d2-bzkOv.T8SiUme&fbclid=IwAR1ZG6O5x2oIawUgCXONq7RCR3UZ60GBZYYpr6hPw8bCYdOWsBkSD4Vg1vU
The Spitfires will begin final preparations for the 2024 season with an away trip to Merchant Taylors’ School in Hertfordshire to face Middlesex on Monday 25 & Tuesday 26 March, followed by a journey to the Kia Oval in South London to face Surrey on Thursday 28 & Friday 29 March. Both matches will be free entry to all.
Kent’s first home foray of the 2024 Summer will then be a three-day match against Loughborough UCCE in Canterbury on Sunday 31 March until Tuesday 2 April.
Bartlett confirmed. First county champ game and the Blast group stage.
Updated squad:
Bats:
Compton
Crawley
DBD
Denly (Joe)
Leaning
Muyeye
O'Riordan
Keepers:
Billings
Finch
Spinners:
Denly (Jaydn)
Parkinson
Qadri
Seamers:
Agar
Bartlett
Bhuiyan
Cohen
Evison
Garrett
Gilchrist
Klaassen
Quinn
Singh
Stewart
It's really hard to keep up with the overseas players now, or get that invested really, as their stays are so short. This is a global issue, with players going from franchise to franchise.
DBD
Crawley
Muyeye
Denly (Joe)
Leaning
Billings
Evison
Bartlett
Agar
Klaassen
Parkinson
And surely if IPL teams get involved, they'll have to dump the ridiculous unique format?
Zak, DBD, Billings, Muyeye and Klaassen all retained in the 100.
Interestingly Ollie Robinson is in the Northern Superchargers squad, making his previous omission from our Blast side all the more dubious.
Less than 2 weeks to the start of the season, so quite late for a first warm up game?
https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/fixture/middlesex-vs-kent-5/?tab=m_scorecard&video=v1_021_02
Jas with 3-32 and Garrett picks up his first wicket for Kent
Jas with a 4th wicket to bowl Hollman
4-2
48-3