Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Stevens a big hit as fans return
Spectators were allowed back inside St Lawrence for the first time since September 2019 and they saw a batting masterclass from Kent’s Darren Stevens, who scored 190, including 15 sixes, in the County Championship draw against Glamorgan. Gillingham’s League 1 campaign ended with a 10th-place finish, seven points behind Oxford United who snatched the final play-off spot, leaving boss Steve Evans thinking what might have been.
“Over the season we weren’t good enough to get ahead of Oxford but I wish them, Blackpool, Sunderland and Lincoln every success,” he said. “The play-offs are magical and I am very envious, but it is very difficult to get in them and we learned a hard lesson over 10 minutes in both games (against Oxford and Northampton), that has cost us.”
There was disappointment, too, for Gillingham’s youth team who were beaten 3-0 by Rochdale in the Youth Alliance League Cup National Final at Priestfield.
Ebbsfleet’s hopes of a return to the National League were also dashed. With only 23 clubs for the 2021/22 season, they failed to convince the FA they should be the 24th club, based on their points-per-game relegation in 2019/20.
In motorsport, scores of spectators returned to Brands Hatch for the first time in seven months as up to 4,000 fans attended the opening round of the British GT Championship. Kent was the first county in the country to receive an England Athletics licence after the pandemic and the best youngsters went headto-head in the Kent County Track & Field Championships at Julie Rose Stadium.