In praise of a forty-something

Matt Walker hailed the ‘immeasurable craft’ of Darren Stevens and says part of the reason the all-rounder does so well with the ball is because batsmen continue to underestimate him. The medium pacer – who turns 41 on April 30 – has already claimed 13 championship wickets this season, taking 6-22 in the second innings against Gloucestershire and 5-51 to help set up the win over Sussex. The five-fer at Hove was Stevens’ 14th in First-class cricket, taking his career tally across all formats to 617 wickets and Kent head coach Walker admits the former Leicestershire man’s exploits with the ball often leave him searching for the right superlatives. Walker added: “With the ball it’s the same old brilliance, I’m lost for words at times. “You watch it, you don’t know how he does it, he’s so accurate, his skill levels are through the roof. “People underestimate it because he bowls at a certain pace but it’s just high skill. He’s always in the game, bowls straight and is always challenging the batsman’s defence. “He knows batsmen and how to set them up and outdo them, the craft he’s got it’s immeasurable. It’s great to have Darren operating like that.” Stevens, who made his Kent debut in 2005, has also scored half-centuries in three of his four championship innings (50, 68 and 71 not out) and Walker says he is reaping the rewards of some hard yards put in over the close season to iron out a couple of technical issues. Walker said: “Darren’s worked hard this winter. Probably by his own admission, the last couple of seasons with the bat he’s not quite performed how he would have liked, certainly at the start of the season. “I know he identified that. He wanted to start well with the bat and he worked hard on a couple of technical things which plagued him a little bit last season. “His balance at the crease (now) is fantastic and he looks like the player I used to walk out to bat with all those years ago. “He’s getting himself into great positions and looks confident.”