Kent Cricket 2026

Addick Addict said:

Believe it or not, we are only 3 points behind Gloucs and with a game in hand too and 4 points behind Derbyshire. In fact, once we've beaten Gloucs and pick up 24 points, we'll only be 15 points behind top placed Lancs!

Nurse!

He's out of bed again ...

Addick Addict said:

LenGlover said:

Would Norman Graham and or Kevin Jarvis still bat at 11 in the present team? 

It's not the number 11 that's our issue. It's numbers 1-6!!!

I know but a facetious comment as to where arguably the worst two Kent batsmen of our lifetimes would bat in the present shitshow!

Just purchased our tickets for 5 x T20 matches at Canterbury & will follow up with a couple of One Dayers nearer the time. 

Hoping for some decent cricket weather now altho' the faithful brolly will always be close by. 

Addick Addict said:

Addick Addict said:

According to one news source from another Kent forum, we are signing James Taylor on loan. Not the former England batter or the singer/songwriter of the same name but the Surrey seamer and younger brother of Tom who this week took six wickets against us this week for Worcestershire. Overall stats aren't great but he did return figures of 20-2-79-2 against Warwickshire this season. Beggars can't be choosers!

This might not go ahead after all as Surrey appear to have a few injured seamers. 

Chicken !!!!

Briston_Addick said:

Addick Addict said:

The Kent legend that is Darren Stevens is 50 today!

Add him to the squad for tomorrow!

Couldn’t do any worse 

Let’s hope Crawley gets a decent score soon and kept in England squad so will then be unavailable for Kent.

In all seriousness, he is frustrating because of his inconsistency. But he is a great talent and I hope he finds form soon. 

So Kent have banned comments on Twitter posts to protect the mental health of everyone involved, essentially. 

Part of me thinks “that’s really progressive” and part of me thinks “could good players stop getting out cheaply for my own mental health”…

It’s certainly going to divide opinion because I haven’t made my mind up! 

I have made my mind up that the statement is staggeringly long winded for the message it’s trying to convey, though.

Statement: 

“Looking ahead to this weekend, I’d like to welcome the players, staff and supporters of Derbyshire to the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury for our next County Championship match.

Collectively, as players, support staff and coaches, we know that our performances at the start of this season have not been anywhere near the standards we expect of ourselves. There is no hiding from that, and we take full responsibility as a collective group.

Results have not reflected the quality, effort or care that exists within this squad.

Every player has owned their part in our current position and, to a man, has committed fully to the work required to change it. Cricket can be a brutal game at times, and momentum can swing quickly, but responsibility and accountability must always come first and we will own that.

We have reviewed everything honestly and clearly, and we are doubling down on the basics that underpin good cricket.

That means re-committing to strong fundamentals, simplifying our game plans, and allowing players the clarity and freedom to perform without overthinking.

With this in mind, as a Head Coach, I first and foremost have a duty of care to my players.

Together, we are a team in every aspect. We support each other as a whole Club, that’s part of what makes this Club special, and that goes as far as everyone that is a part of the Kent Cricket Family, not just the 11 players on the field.

Throughout my career in cricket as a player and a coach, I have had to deal with a lot, that’s no secret. I’ve seen in recent times, two players and friends that I played alongside for England, go down a bad path in terms of mental health, and I’ve lost both of them. It’s part of my job, and my duty of care, to make sure that we don’t see that again.

As a professional cricket department, alongside our media team, we’ve decided as one that we will be suspending commenting on our official Kent Cricket social media accounts for the time being. This has not been a decision that we’ve taken lightly, and we are in no means stopping people voicing their opinions, but to align with our short-term strategy to allow players and staff to think and play with freedom and clarity, we feel it is a necessary one.

The majority of our supporters are behind us and at times criticise us fairly, but when this crosses the line, this can be damaging to not only the players, but their friends, family and loved ones.

I want to make clear that we are not stopping people having their opinions. There are several ways for supporters to get their views across.

There’s a Members’ Forum that ‘Cookie’ [Simon Cook] and Michael [Wilshaw] will be at on Day One of this match, and anyone can also contact the Club with their feedback at any time.

We are all extremely proud and privileged to wear the White Horse of Kent and we are aware of the history of this Club, and the expectations that come with that.

You’re measured as a person by how you act and apply yourself when times are hard, and I’d like to think that our Members and supporters will be willing us to do well more than ever. We are giving our all every day to improve.

I always end these pieces by saying, “get behind the team”. I hope that you can understand why we’ve made the measures that we have, and that you’ll give us your full support going forward.

If we’re going to turn things around, we all must play our part.”

My thoughts are that anything that keeps a player's mind fully on his game & NOT worrying about the views of others whilst he's on the pitch has to be a  good, positive step. Time for reflection & self analysis afterwards which is probably something a player does naturally. 

A simplistic & possibly naive opinion as I've never even played Noughts & Crosses professionally but I've winced ar some of the comments on here this season regarding our Charlton players, especially young Tyreece. OK, " If you can't stand the heat, get out of the kitchen" but there are limits and others have suggested that extreme criticism has  adversely affected his confidence....At least at this level of cricket, players rarely, if ever, have to listen to vocal criticism whilst playing in a match....I hope ! 

Of course, we pay our money to watch sport & we all have opinions but this statement has seemingly  been made as a result of social media posts of late that have "gone beyond the pale " & as such, this is likely an attempt to put a brake on the situation pro tem.

Finally, we look to be starting more of our younger, less experienced players now, and as such, this could be with a view to offering them a degree of protection at this early stage in their careers. Surely not a bad thing.... 

TBH, anything that helps our lads to concentrate on their game at this early stage of the season without the angst of what lies ahead for them on social media must be a positive. We need to get behind them 100% & maybe keep any negative comments to ourselves, or at least with those like minded supporters that we're able to have sensible discussions with in private.

Onwards & upwards, Kent !