Captain Jack Leaning hopes the beginning of Kent’s Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign can give them fresh impetus as they aim to kickstart their season.
They finished bottom of the T20 Blast South group and are at the foot of County Championship Division 1.
But with few of their playing staff heading to this year’s edition of The Hundred, 2022 One-Day Cup winners Spitfires – then captained by Joe Denly – will be optimistic of repeating that success before they aim to finish their red-ball campaign on a high in September.
Leaning said: “I will certainly be leaning on Denners (Denly), asking what he did a couple of years ago to try and emulate that.
“We have got a really nice mix of senior players and some really talented young players in the squad, including Jaydn [Denly] – Joe’s nephew – who’s been with England’s under-19s and Ekansh Singh is going to be in and around the squad.
“He’ll probably play a couple of games at the start, which is really exciting. He has gone really well for the 2nds.
“It gives us a chance to have a little bit of a fresh start in a competition.
“We can be on a level playing field with everybody and look to hit the ground running, rather than trying to pick it up towards the end.”
Denly, 38, has been out injured in recent weeks (knee), as well as South African overseas Beyers Swanepoel (hamstring).
But all-rounder Swanepoel is set to return at the start of the One-Day Cup and Denly is not far from making his comeback.
“Hopefully, we’ll have Denners back in a couple of weeks,” Leaning confirmed.
“I think Beyers is fit for this week, as well, which is really good.”
The competition will see interim head coach Mark Dekker take charge of Kent’s squad.
On the former Zimbabwe international, Leaning said: “Deksy is an absolute legend.
“He brings a different kind of energy, he just loves what he does and you can see that really rubs off on the lads. He’s a funny bloke.
“I know that everyone is looking forward to having him around a bit more.”
They will get to work alongside several exciting young Spitfires players, including teenage batting all-rounder Singh, who has penned a rookie Kent deal.
“He likes to play his shots with the bat and he’s a decent seamer, who swings it and he’s a jet in the field,” said Leaning.
“I’m really excited to watch Ekansh play. He’s full of confidence.
“He’s been in and around the group for the last three or four T20s and he’s had a couple of scores for the 2nds.
“He’s quite a shy young lad but, once you have got him on a cricket field, he’s full of confidence in himself.”
Among Kent’s other players set to be involved are batting all-rounder Marcus O’Riordan, one of several spin options, and fast bowler Jas Singh. Both were handed first-team chances in the T20 Blast.
Kent start their Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign against Somerset at Taunton today. They then take on Lancashire at Blackpool two days later and welcome Hampshire to Beckenham on Wednesday.
Leaning stated: “The schedule is a bit tough.
“We go from Taunton to Blackpool to Beckenham in the space of about six days. There’s a few road trips and a bit of time on the bus.”
While Kent are only losing a handful to The Hundred competition, the same cannot be said for opening-day opponents Somerset – which makes them a bit of an unknown quantity.
Leaning said: “I think that’s quite nice sometimes.
“Certainly in white-ball cricket, it’s easy to get stuck in and amongst the statistics, who you’re playing against, ‘He does this, he does that’ and actually – when you’re playing against people you’ve not seen much – you just have a little bit more of an open mind and play what’s in front of you.”
Kent eased past Bedfordshire in a one-day friendly on Tuesday.
Swanepoel blasted 120 off 90 balls before retiring not out and wicketkeeper Harry Finch added 97 in 67 balls in their 47-over total of 358-5.
Bedfordshire made 301-9 with Singh (4-70) the pick of Spitfires’ bowlers.
Spitfires’ “Junior Journo” scheme will return for the 2024 Metro Bank One-Day Cup.
Kent are offering the chance for a “Junior Journo” to come to experience a day of being a club-accredited journalist for a match, interviewing players, presenting for Kent media channels and writing their own match report.
Email george.halfhide@kentcricket.co.uk and include your name, your child’s name and which match you would like your child to be a Junior Journo for to enter the competition.
Kent squad for Somerset match: Leaning, Jaydn Denly, Evison, Finch, Garrett, Gilchrist, Parkinson, Qadri, E.Singh, J.Singh, Stewart, Stobo, Swanepoel.
