Kent open campaign with home game

Kent’s Specsavers County Championship Division 2 campaign will begin against Gloucestershire at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, on Friday, April 13.

They follow that up with a trip to Durham (April 20) and face games against Glamorgan (Cardiff) and Sussex (Canterbury) before the Royal London One-day Cup series starts in mid-may.

The first RLODC home match is against Glamorgan at Canterbury on Friday, May 25. The Spitfires will also host Somerset (Canterbury, May 29), Surrey (Beckenham, June 1) and Gloucestershire (Beckenham, June 3).

Pink-ball cricket returns in 2018 with a championship match against Middlesex at Canterbury on June 25-28 – where the first day-night Championship match was held in September 2011.

The 167th Canterbury Cricket Week takes place from July 20-27 with the visit of Leicestershire to The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, either side of T20 matches against Surrey and Sussex.

Kent will travel to Edgbaston to face Warwickshire in the final match of the campaign (September 24-27).

Tunbridge Wells Cricket Festival is yet to be confirmed due to concerns over maintenance of the Nevill Ground as work continues to improve facilities.

The Championship fixture against Warwickshire, scheduled for June 20-23, will only go ahead if the club and ECB officials are satisfied with the condition of the playing area during pre-season inspections.

Kent open their 2018 Natwest T20 Blast campaign with three successive away games. They face Surrey at the Kia Oval on Friday, July 6, Somerset at Taunton on Sunday, July 8, and Gloucestershire at Bristol on Wednesday, July 11.

They launch their home campaign with successive Friday night games, hosting Hampshire at Beckenham on Friday, July 13, and Surrey at Canterbury a week later (July 20). The quarter-finals will take place over August 23-26 with Finals Day at Edgbaston on September 15.

Early Bird T20 matchday tickets for home games go on sale in January (price £22 for adults and £5 children until 30 June 2018).