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Kent Cricket 2025
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198 all out. Derbyshire win by an innings and 229 runs.1
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It’s over! I’m sure the dissection of the season will continue but a thank you to you all for your company this season. As someone who lives away from Kent it’s great to be able to talk about the cricket, even if the stuff being played is awful to watch!3
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One thing I would say about playing the youngsters is that the experience will be invaluable. You simply cannot replicate this in 2nd XI cricket so, if we didn't play them in these final few games then we would be throwing them in next season without knowing what to expect.
Equally, the reason we've been playing the likes of Quinn, Garrett, Rizvi and Cohen is because big decisions have to be made about their future which is why Gilchrist has been released to play elsewhere.
We are also making massive assumptions that Billings, Klaassen and Crawley have any interest in playing red ball in September. What do they have to prove and how would that help us for next season? Not one of those has had any consistent form for us in recent seasons.
It's all reputational and in the case of Crawley, if he really wanted to play for us, he would have done so. Last season Crawley scored 322 runs in 10 innings at an average of 32.20 of which 238 came in a drawn match on a Somerset road where they got 554. So, he scored 96 runs in his other 9 innings. This season he averages 31.28 whereas Dawkins averages 34.40. Apart from the fact that he's England's opener, there is no evidence whatsoever from the last two seasons that Crawley would have done any better because, in English type conditions, his technique does not stand up to scrutiny.
As for "weak management", I think this is the complete opposite of that. We simply cannot have it both ways i.e. why are we continuing to play those that have consistently failed in the last few seasons but then, in the next breath question why we aren't playing the youngsters when the remaining fixtures are dead rubbers. Playing Leaning, who has done nothing this season, would have been the very easy and weak option.
I really do firmly believe that Hollioake has used these last few games with a view to making us stronger next season and to demonstrate to the promising youngsters we have that there is a pathway to the first team for them but that at the start of next season they will probably have to bide their time.3 -
Peter_G said:Injuries and other absences have ruined Kent’s season, but I feel it could have been handled better. Why has Leaning been set aside for recent games? Could Billings and Klaassen not be persuaded to play some red ball games on short term deals? Could Kent have tried harder to wrest Crawley away from England when he simply has not been playing? Why release Gilchrist to Warwickshire early when neither Northeast nor Milnes have been released to us?
It smacks of weak management and lack of foresight. I’m all for giving the five youngsters their chances but none of them have added anything to the bowling attack, and only two or three have made positive contributions with the bat.
What would be the advantage of playing leaning? He’s been absolutely woeful when given a chance in red ball. No point wasting money on billings or klassen when we knew we weren’t going anywhere after 4 games. There was absolutely no point in doing any of the above as the season had already ended before it even started1 -
For perspective, these are the averages of our batters this season, from which we can see that only a couple can be said to have done infinitely better than the youngsters that were given opportunities recently:
Compton - 60.26
Benjamin - 41.22
Muyeye - 36.88
Dawkins - 34.40
DBD - 33.50
Evison - 31.93
Crawley - 31.28
Ekansh - 28.44
Jaydn - 26.53
Finch - 25.66
Joe - 23.66
Leaning - 15.33
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Doesn't seem to be a good year for needing a domestic batter anyway. Plenty of bowlers being released but not a lot of experienced batters.1
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I don't agree with the Gilchrist decision though. None of our young seam bowlers are anywhere near ready for first team action, and we've been left pathetically short in both the 50 over and the county championship.0
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Just to point out that in the 50 over comp, on loan at Middlesex, Gilchrist took 2-207 with an E/R of 6.46. That is worse than virtually every single one of the dozen or so bowlers we used in the competition in terms of combined wickets taken and E/R. Those last few games in the CC were about looking at those bowlers out of contract.killerandflash said:I don't agree with the Gilchrist decision though. None of our young seam bowlers are anywhere near ready for first team action, and we've been left pathetically short in both the 50 over and the county championship.
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Looking like Durham are doing their best to make sure they will be heading down to the second division.0
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What a capitulation by Durham, us at Kent knows how that feels. They go down and Hampshire survive.0
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Skittled out by George Hill and Dom Bess. It's not that long ago that Bess was England's no 1 spinner
Hopefully Ollie Robinson will have a relegation clause in his contract, enabling him to rejoin Kent
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That is one of the worst chokes I've ever seen. Look at the run rate. Look at that second wicket partnership. They've put the noose around their neck and handed Yorkshire the lever1
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Can't believe Durham have choked that badly. And I thought Sussex nearly not chasing 61 yesterday was going to be the biggest shambles of this round of games.0
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It has been a bitterly disappointing season by Kent. It was not just the defeats but the manner of the constant losses. Some sort of revamp of the side is required but there’s no money so Kent will have to be creative / lucky in terms of recruitment.Trying to sell membership, sponsorship, hospitality must be a nightmare with the team performing so poor.There have been injuries but Kent have not helped themselves this season with loan signings and overseas recruits not making an impact. Kent need to get these decisions right.I am more positive about next season with some younger promising players and Adam Hollioake is at least saying the right things and hopefully he will be more central in trying to reverse the club’s fortunes.2
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George Garrett is retiring from professional cricket and going into a career in Law instead.
Great insight from him about his journey and how things don't necessarily work out from being a young pro through to retirement in his case at the age of just 25.
https://www.kentcricket.co.uk/news/george-garrett-what-ill-take-most-going-forward-is-the-friendships-ive-made/
Wish George all the very best who, by all accounts, is a lovely bloke.3 -
Expect a few more announcements in the weeks to come - one or two might surprise whilst others won't really.0
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O'Riordan and Rizvi announced as being released which isn't a surpriseAddick Addict said:Expect a few more announcements in the weeks to come - one or two might surprise whilst others won't really.0 -
Nothing against the guy, but really confusing why Kent kept giving new contracts to O'Riordan. It was as if there were desperate to bring a player through, even if he wasn't good enough.0
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Ben Dawkins has been called up to the U19's squad for ODI's against Windies and the US next month3
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Not based on knowledge but O'Riordan was at Tonbridge Scholl with Zak Crawley and they are apparently best mates. Keeping O'Riordan may have been seen as a way of keeping Zak at Canterbury as he wouldn't have been particularly expensive compared to other players.killerandflash said:Nothing against the guy, but really confusing why Kent kept giving new contracts to O'Riordan. It was as if there were desperate to bring a player through, even if he wasn't good enough.0 - Sponsored links:
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killerandflash said:Nothing against the guy, but really confusing why Kent kept giving new contracts to O'Riordan. It was as if there were desperate to bring a player through, even if he wasn't good enough.
I don't disagree with that but I suspect that he was retained due to the injury he had last season and we were hoping that he might be able to return to bowling should we need that second spinner in white ball expecially. I do find it as strange, however, that a player such as O'Riordan, who is Kent though and through, has been at the Club for 16 years with six as a pro, has been released without a single word said bar the fact that we are letting him go. Yet there is plenty about Garrett, who has been with us for just four years, including an interview on social media with him.0 -
Two years, no?Addick Addict said:killerandflash said:Nothing against the guy, but really confusing why Kent kept giving new contracts to O'Riordan. It was as if there were desperate to bring a player through, even if he wasn't good enough.
I don't disagree with that but I suspect that he was retained due to the injury he had last season and we were hoping that he might be able to return to bowling should we need that second spinner in white ball expecially. I do find it as strange, however, that a player such as O'Riordan, who is Kent though and through, has been at the Club for 16 years with six as a pro, has been released without a single word said bar the fact that we are letting him go. Yet there is plenty about Garrett, who has been with us for just four years, including an interview on social media with him.1 -
Two years, in which he barely played and made zero impact after doing nothing at Warks either, so while I wish him well, it's hard to be especially bothered.Addick Addict said:killerandflash said:Nothing against the guy, but really confusing why Kent kept giving new contracts to O'Riordan. It was as if there were desperate to bring a player through, even if he wasn't good enough.
I don't disagree with that but I suspect that he was retained due to the injury he had last season and we were hoping that he might be able to return to bowling should we need that second spinner in white ball expecially. I do find it as strange, however, that a player such as O'Riordan, who is Kent though and through, has been at the Club for 16 years with six as a pro, has been released without a single word said bar the fact that we are letting him go. Yet there is plenty about Garrett, who has been with us for just four years, including an interview on social media with him.
I agree that O'Riordan deserves more of a farewell than he got.0 -
Nothing to say he won't get more of one later but it does make you wonder if there was some form of falling out0
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According to another forum, Hollioake had indicated that Stewart, DBD and Jas have signed contract extensions.4
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Bernard Julien, one of Kent's main overseas players in the 1970s, has sadly passed away at the age of 76. He was a left-arm swing bowler and no mean bat either with many memorable performances in the time he was with us.4
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RIP Bernard. Nice man. Good player!Addick Addict said:Bernard Julien, one of Kent's main overseas players in the 1970s, has sadly passed away at the age of 76. He was a left-arm swing bowler and no mean bat either with many memorable performances in the time he was with us.2 -
While I bear Kent no ill will whatsoever, delighted that at least they prevented my team from finishing rock bottom (again)...1
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He was an exciting player who never quite made it to the top for either Kent or the Windies, down the pecking order behind Roberts, Holding, Garner etc. His century at Lord’s alongside Sobers as England were thrashed was memorable. Fell from grace after signing for the rebel tour of South Africa.Addick Addict said:Bernard Julien, one of Kent's main overseas players in the 1970s, has sadly passed away at the age of 76. He was a left-arm swing bowler and no mean bat either with many memorable performances in the time he was with us.1 -
Some unbelievably talented bowlers never or hardly played for the Windies, due to the ludicrous talent pool in the 70s and 80s.
Similarly, some Aussie batsmen had the misfortune to be around in the 1990s, when in any other era they would have got 50 caps.0
