Tredwell will fight for spot

James Tredwell admits he was frustrated not to play more during his testimonial season but remains as determined as ever to contribute at Kent. The summer of 2016 was a landmark one for Tredwell as he claimed his 400th First-Class wicket but 12 months on, the offspinner found his opportunities severely limited. Of his six Championship starts, all but one came in the opening five matches although he failed to bowl in two of those and was only given five overs in another. Tredwell signed a new deal with the county he made his debut for in 2000 last month and says his enthusiasm for the club and the game remains undiminished even if the lot of a spinner is getting increasingly hard. The 35-year-old, who hopes to combine playing with coaching the county’s academy and age-group squads, said: “I didn’t play as much as I would have liked last season but I was always confident of getting a (new) deal. “I’ll be fighting as hard as I can to be in that first team (in 2018).” Tredwell has 907 wickets across all formats including 78 international scalps and although he remains Kent’s leading all-time wicket taker in domestic T20 cricket (with 119 victims from 142 matches), he often saw 24-year-old Imran Qayyum picked ahead of him last season.

Kent all-rounder Will Gidman has put pen to paper on a new deal. The 32-year-old has scored eight half-centuries and averaged 34 in first-class cricket since joining, initially on loan from Nottinghamshire in 2016.