‘We don’t need a big upheaval’

Kent cricket

Matt Walker says there will be no mass panic or upheaval in the wake of Kent’s failure to win promotion to Division 1 of the Specsavers County Championship. After an impressive start to the campaign – which saw them win four of their opening five Division 2 matches – Kent’s challenge has petered out in the final weeks. Kent were forced to settle for their seventh draw in 12 games, last Friday in Bristol, after failing to agree terms with Gloucestershire on a final-day run chase to set up a result. Without a championship win since May, Kent began their penultimate match against Derbyshire at Chesterfield on Tuesday in fourth, 56 points behind leaders Worcestershire and 43 adrift of second-placed Nottinghamshire, who need just six points from their remaining two games to put themselves out of reach. Head coach Walker admits the squad are resigned to being in Division 2 next season but he remains optimistic about their future prospects. He said: “In terms of what we wanted to achieve, the season is over. We set our sights high on achieving promotion and thought we had a good chance but it hasn’t happened. “It was always going to be a real challenge but we just haven’t won enough games, quite got over the line often enough. “There have been occasions especially in these last few weeks when we’ve had opportunities and we’ve not taken them, which has hurt us badly.” Walker says he is pleased the core of the squad including all-rounder Darren Stevens – who is on the verge of signing another one-year deal – are staying but says everyone, including himself, needs to raise the bar. He added: “We’re not a million miles away. It’s not a mass panic certainly, we don’t need a massive upheaval at all. “There’s been enough evidence this year to see what quality there is in the team, the trick is putting it all together at the same time, enough of the time. “If you’re going to win a championship you need a team performing consistently together more often that not and good individual performances here and there aren’t always going to do it. “Bowling, batting, catching, all those areas have got to improve – not just in the championship but across all three formats. “That said, the nucleus of the side is a really good one, a really strong one and (next season) this group will be another year older, another year wiser. “We’re not that far away but we haven’t been that far away for a number of years now and we’ve just got to make sure that we stop saying that and we actually get some reward.” Meanwhile, Walker has played down speculation linking Kent with Durham’s former England bowler Graham Onions but he did concede the county are looking to strengthen. Walker added: “I did hear that speculation and I’d be interested in where it came from. We’re a club that has a fairly limited budget but if we can try and identify a couple of players who might improve our side and fit well into our squad, then we will.” Kent complete their campaign with a game against Glamorgan which starts on Monday at Canterbury.