Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond insists he will learn from Kent’s County Championship relegation.
The 31-year-old’s first campaign as club skipper was a largely forgettable one with his side finishing rock bottom in Division 1.
Bell-Drummond, who confirmed he wants to continue as captain, said: “I’m always learning.
“I’ll reflect over the winter and see what I, and we, could have done better.
“We’ll fight hard in Division 2 (next year) to get some good results there.
“It’ll take time to sink in, for sure, but it’s been a tough season.”
Relegation comes after Kent narrowly survived in the previous two years, and Bell-Drummond can see the silver lining of becoming more competitive in Division 2 in 2025.
“When you’re holding on for that long, it’s just been a scrap for the last two or three seasons,” he said.
“Even in 2022, we came fifth in Division 1 but were in a relegation battle with a game to go. It’s just been tough work.
“We’ve had injuries and lost a few players, times are getting tougher in that sense, and it all kind of built-up. It’ll be good to restart and refresh in Division 2.
“We have got some good, young players coming through the ranks.
“There’s always a silver lining and there will be an opportunity for younger players, as well.
“In a way – and it does sound weird at the minute – but there are things to look forward to.
“Hopefully, we can start dominating in games and build confidence in Division 2.”
Kent’s only red-ball win came in early May against Lancashire but was followed by a home draw to Worcestershire and then an eight-wicket defeat at Somerset, and an innings loss to Essex.
“After Old Trafford, we were on a bit of a high,” reflected Bell-Drummond. “We had got a few well-fought draws when we had been in losing positions before that.
“We were looking decent in the table but the hanging on and the scrapping, you can only continue that for so long. It’s a long, old season.
“It’s hard to keep scrapping and fighting. You have got to be good enough to challenge the opposition – and be better than them in some cases – and we just haven’t been able to do that for many reasons.
“It’s been a tough season.
“I’d look at just before the T20s, the Somerset and Essex losses, where Zak Crawley played a brilliant knock (scoring 238), and we couldn’t quite get a draw. Then, we crumbled against Essex here.
“Some of the injuries started to kick in at that point, as well.
“We just haven’t been good enough. It’s been a tough two or three seasons in Division 1 now.
“When you keep fighting, it’s going to end like it has.”
Kent were left with plenty to do in their season run-in if they were to avoid the drop.
Generally, Kent have found their best form in the latter stages of the campaign in recent years but it proved a step too far this time around.
Bell-Drummond said: “The Worcestershire and Warwickshire games were disappointing, they were teams that were near us in the league at that point.
“They were played on two result wickets and we didn’t bat or bowl well enough in both of those games. After that, we were clutching at straws.
“Mathematically, there was still a chance but the Worcestershire and Warwickshire games really hurt us.
“We played the teams in the top four towards the start of the year so, coming into the back-end, we wanted to beat the teams around us.
“But falling apart at Worcestershire – barring Tawanda Muyeye’s double century – and against Warwickshire was the nail in the coffin.”
