There could be a familiar face in the opposition team when Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond begins his tenure as club captain.
Bell-Drummond is set to lead Kent out for their first County Championship Division 1 match of the season against Somerset in Canterbury from Friday.
Another experienced batsman, Sean Dickson, is among those who could be in the away dressing room.
South African Dickson, with Kent from 2015 until 2019, is close friends with Bell-Drummond – and was among the first to congratulate Bell-Drummond after his record-breaking triple century against Northamptonshire last June.
Dickson was the last Kent men’s player to score a first-class triple ton prior to Bell-Drummond, making 318 in County Championship Division 2, also against Northamptonshire, at Beckenham in 2017.
“It would be good to play him,” Bell-Drummond said. “I haven’t actually played against him!
“Either he’s been injured or I’ve been injured since (Dickson left Kent), so fingers crossed that we’re both there.
“He’s a very good player. It’s always great to catch-up with old faces but, once we step across the white line, we will be trying to get him out as early as possible.”
Kent’s red-ball match against Somerset cannot come around soon enough for Bell-Drummond.
“I cannot wait,” he said. “It’s been a long winter – a very wet one, as well. The guys are raring to go, especially myself. It’s a fresh start.
“There’s a lot of positivity coming into the season, a lot to build on, and some great new signings. I’m looking forward to the two overseas guys (Xavier Bartlett and Wes Agar) getting here.
“But there’s a lot of local talent, as well. A lot of good, young players who, hopefully, can kick on this year – Joey Evison, Tawanda Muyeye and Jaydn Denly, who has just played in a World Cup. There’s a lot of excitement among us all.
“It’s a tough start – but that’s what we look forward to in Division 1. That’s what Division 1 cricket is all about.
“Hopefully, winning games against these teams will breed confidence and positivity going forward. We have done it in the past. We just need to be more consistent.”
Bell-Drummond won five of nine men’s accolades at the 2023 Kent end-of-season awards after his red-hot form.
Arguably, balancing the responsibilities of being captain and focusing on regularly being able to score runs consistently was something stand-in skipper Jack Leaning struggled to do last term.
When asked how he would ensure he continues to perform personally despite his captaincy role, Bell-Drummond replied: “It’s a good question.
“I’ve had experience in the past with it. I captained in red-ball (cricket), going into 2021 when Sam (Billings) was away, so I have got some experience behind myself.
“For me, I think the key thing is just making sure I give time to myself and focus on my own game.
“I want to lead from the front and scoring runs is the best way to do that.
“I’m old enough now to know how to prepare and how to get the best out of myself – that won’t change.
“With all the people I’ve got beside me – Matt (Walker, head coach), Simon (Cook, director of cricket) and Jack – I definitely won’t get too swamped and too caught-up.
“My main role is to lead the guys but, also, I want to score runs. It’s going to be a learning curve.
“But I’m experienced enough and in a very good place in my career to deal with that.”
Bell-Drummond (100 retired) and Joe Denly (101 retired) fired centuries as Kent made a dominant start on the first day of a three-day pre-season friendly against a Loughborough UCCE team at Canterbury’s Spitfire Ground on Sunday.
The duo helped the hosts to 377-8 in 68.5 overs.
In reply, spinner Matt Parkinson (1-3) took a wicket to leave the visitors 38-1 off 15 overs at the close of play. Entry is free across all three days.
