Kentish Express Ashford & District
Qayyum’s promising start thrills Walker
Spinner Imran Qayyum has played himself into Kent’s NatWest T20 plans after just two first-team outings. The 24-year-old left-armer was handed his Spitfires debut against Gloucestershire at Cheltenham last Thursday and then took 2-19 from four overs against the same opponents at Canterbury on Tuesday night. With a trip to Richmond to face Qayyum’s home county and former club Middlesex tonight (Thursday), Walker admitted: “Imran is most definitely in our thoughts, “I think you saw the rising of a star. It’s early in his career but he’s bowled well in his first two games – although he had some assistance (from the pitch) on Tuesday night. “He showed what he can do at Cheltenham and he’s put himself right in the frame. It’s what we want our young players to do. When they put in performances like that, it’s a good headache to have.” Qayyum is desperate to get a crack against Middlesex’s starstudded line-up. He said: “You always want to play against the best players and Brendon McCullum has played all around the world. “It’s a massive match for me because Middlesex was my home county. I grew up there KENT’S NEXT FIVE GAMES ... T20 July 27 Somerset (Canterbury) ...T20 July 30 Glamorgan (Canterbury) so it’s always a game close to my heart, whether I’m in the first or second team. They have got some good players but we are a top T20 side and I’m sure we’ll come out and perform like we should.” Reflecting on his progress, Qayyum admitted: “It was great to get my debut (last week) after being on the staff for four years. “I’ve waited quite a while to get some first team opportunities but they are starting to come now so hopefully I can hold my place and keep trying my best each time I go out on the field. “We were right up for it but Gloucester on the day had better skills. “We did pretty well with the ball. Looking at the Canterbury scores that was a below-par score. We need to reassess the way we batted.”