Skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond is convinced Kent opener Zak Crawley will soon rediscover his best form.
With the 28-year-old’s place in England’s side under serious threat after their humiliation in Australia this winter, Crawley has endured a slow start to the county campaign.
The former Tonbridge School pupil has scored 60 runs at an average of 15 in Kent’s first two County Championship Division 2 draws.
But fellow batsman Bell-Drummond thinks a big score is around the corner for him.
He said: “I know the quality player he is – everyone does. It’s been two games.
“Obviously, that microscope is always on him for the reasons we know.
“He’s going to come good. He has done it before for Kent.
“I think he’s one good shot away from really knuckling down and getting a big score. He doesn’t look out of form.
“[In] the last two games, he hasn’t had a big one but that’ll change.”
In contrast to Crawley, fellow opener Ben Compton – Kent’s 2025 player-of-the-year – produced a characteristically stubborn second-innings 118 not out to salvage an unlikely draw against Northamptonshire at Canterbury last week.
It was a 19th first-class century of the left-hander’s career.
“He’s a quality player, one of the best players in the country,” said Bell-Drummond. “His numbers show that.
“He has just started how he left off last year, really.
“He got a decent ball in the first innings but he played really nicely in the follow-on. There were some tricky spells on day three that him and Sam Northeast dealt with well.
“He saw us through, playing for a heck of a lot of time and just showed his class.”
Compton’s main second-innings support against Northamptonshire came from Sam Northeast, who contributed 69 in a 152-run partnership on his home return.
Bell-Drummond said: “Sam’s a quality player and it’s great to have him back.
“He has had a good start to the season and, no doubt, he will want to kick-on.
“He was a massive part of it – with Ben – helping us over the line to get a draw.”
But it was Bell-Drummond himself who reached stumps on day four against Northamptonshire with Compton as he finished unbeaten on 36 after his second-innings 37 in Kent’s opening-round draw at Durham.
“I’ve got a few starts,” said Bell-Drummond, on his own batting form. “I want to kick-on over the next few games but I’m getting my rhythm.
“There has been some decent bowling – as there should be – it’s first-class cricket but I’m confident a big one is around the corner.”
Bell-Drummond is eager for Kent to take those positives from the Northamptonshire game into their red-ball match at Worcestershire, which starts from tomorrow, as they aim to make the most of a bye week.
Worcestershire, led by Alan Richardson, have started with a draw and a win this term.
They are also due to have ex-Kent South African all-rounder Beyers Swanepoel – who made a controversial exit from his domestic club last month – at their disposal. The 27-year-old was at Canterbury two years ago.
On how Kent can use their draw against Northamptonshire as a catalyst to kick-start their summer, Bell-Drummond said: “We have got to take the positives from it.
“There was a lot that wasn’t good enough. It’s a good kick for us to really switch on – I know the guys are switched on – but we all know that wasn’t good enough. We have got to refresh.
“We’re going to be training hard over the next week or so, and then we’ll go up to Worcester and make sure we put in a better performance.”
