Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Concerns for Kent coach
EASE PRESSURE ON BOWLERS
Head coach Matt Walker believes Kent’s batters need to give their bowlers bigger totals to defend but concedes the amount of runs being scored against them is a concern.
Kent have failed to keep the opposition under 500 runs in the first innings of any of their four County Championship Division 1 matches this season, despite having had Yorkshire 23-3 before they eventually racked up 571 as the teams drew at Headingley last week.
But Walker feels their batting unit should collectively be putting more runs on the board in a bid to create scoreboard pressure.
“I think it’s two-fold,” he explained. “Yes, we have conceded 500 every game and that doesn’t look great, and certainly is frustrating and slightly concerning for our bowling attack.
“But we have played on good wickets. We certainly haven’t batted well enough collectively.
“The Essex game was a great example because I thought we bowled very well that game without much luck. But we responded with the bat brilliantly. We matched their big first-innings score with our big first-innings score.
“Then against Lancashire, we didn’t do that. It was a good wicket and I think they posted a score that reflected that - and we didn’t.
“Sometimes, scoreboard pressure does create issues for batsmen but we batted first against Hampshire and, again, we didn’t make the most of a good start.
“We should have got nearer 450 on that wicket but we were bowled out for around 300.
“It’s a different story for the bowlers if they know they have 450 or 500 to bowl with. We know we have to give our bowlers something more to get their teeth stuck into with a bigger first-innings score.
“But also with the ball, we know we’ve got to be more consistent and more disciplined for longer periods. That’s what teams have done to us on these good wickets.
“There’s no more skill [in other teams’ bowling attacks] than we’ve got in our bowling attack, it’s just the attitude and the discipline and consistency where the opposition have been better than us over the last three games.”
After conceding another big total, Kent were left battling for a draw against Yorkshire on Sunday. A second-innings half-century from opener Ben Compton (93), backed up by a 166-run partnership between wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson (85 not out) and all-rounder Grant Stewart (90) looked to have got Kent a draw before they lost their final four wickets in quick succession, leaving Yorkshire chasing 114.
But the hosts’ run chase was over before it started, as bad light meant a ball was never bowled in their second innings.
Walker reflected: “It’s a strange sort of feeling.
“Probably, for an hour and a quarter leading up towards the end of the game, when Grant and Robbo were still at the crease and playing so well to wrestle back the game, I think there was a real sense of positivity, fightback, determination and excellence, actually.
“But then, that 20 minutes of madness where we had a run-out and lost those next three wickets very quickly left us going from feeling pretty positive about the game overall to that sort of sense of deja vu.
“We had got ourselves into a pretty strong position but we are under threat again to possibly lose the game, and quite likely to lose the game. So it was an odd feeling, really, probably not dissimilar to how I think everyone has felt over the last three weeks.
“There were lots of highlights, individual positives and excellent performances but just, collectively, [we were] not good enough over the course of the whole four days.”
The match saw South African all-rounder George Linde make his Kent debut. Linde made 27 not out and 16 with the bat while the spinner ended with figures of 3-155.
Walker stated: “It looked like he was trying to find his feet a little bit, trying to get used to the pace of the wicket and get himself back in rhythm again.
“He’s bowled very well in the nets but practice is nothing like playing in the middle. We wanted him in the team quickly.
“Obviously, he came on in a tricky period where Dawid Malan and Harry Brook had just got set and we struggled to create any pressure during that period from either end. So it was quite difficult for George to settle in.
“But there were some stages as the day went on, he looked more and more comfortable. He will only get better.”