Coach’s Corner – Farby’s Blog – 21 June

Well yet another dull week in the life of Kent Cricket Club, T20 wins and a poor pitch at Lords, new floodlights, rain, and new facilities at the ground.

Having just travelled back from London, and I want to get this one out of the system quickly, a poor first day pitch against a very strong seam attack and we are all out for 87, not what we had in mind at any stage. The wicket had been under cover for the best part of 60 hours of the previous 72 hours. The moisture in the ground plus the extra grass meant the wicket was lively and batting very tough.

We did perhaps not quite get it right when we bowled, but once we got our lengths organized then bowled very well. Azhar rolled back the years and showed just how skillful he is, the short ball looked exciting but didn’t really do too much damage, it was the back of a length ball that did for the batsmen.

It did flatten out on day 2 just before lunch and then became a very good cricket wicket, but for us that was too late, and it meant we left Lords with a defeat, and it quickly needs to be forgotten and we need to now focus our minds on the next T20 match at Uxbridge on Friday evening.

The last week has seen some very exciting and skillful T20 cricket played, and for those who say T20 is not cricket, but some form of baseball, well I will disagree there and say that T20 is a very skillful game. We have seen the side play with real confidence and win three very good games of T20.

The Cardiff win really gave the side a new lease of life and from there the win at Beckenham was of the highest quality, Wahab certainly showed the supporters and members why we went for him, and how well did he bowl after his first over running into a very strong wind. It was really exciting to see the stumps being knocked over by a genuine pace bowler. That got the team going and then Azhar played probably the best innings I have seen him play, he struck the ball well and also played some fantastic cricket shots. What have we been doing saving him down the order for so long!!!!

The rain stopped the run at Hove, and it was so heavy that the game could have been called off on our arrival, but the umpires choose to wait until 7pm, that then meant we had to battle back up the M23 and M25 in terrible weather, how kind of them.

It did look like the weather might delay the new lights here at the ground, and the groundstaff did really well to get a match on at all on Saturday night. I have to confess though at 21 for 6, I did glance to the sky in the hope of more rain. The thought going through my mind for a brief period was that the new lights might not actually come into play, but thanks to Jonah and then Tred we did get ourselves to 115. The genuine thought in the dug out was that anything around a hundred we could defend. Once we got to the dizzy heights of 115, it was our game to win.

The bowling and fielding was top class, the fielding as good as we have been all year, and the bowlers showed real skill and kept their nerve so well. With an attack that has four international bowlers and a young 19 year old, we knew we had a chance. I know Tred rightly got Man of the match, and Azhar showed real skill, the one I want to praise however is Bally. He was hit to every part of T Wells a couple of week ago in one over, and yet has shown great mental strength and a high level of skill to bounce back and show why we all rate him so highly. Simon Willis must take a lot of credit for Adam having done so well this year, he put in a lot of time with him in the winter, and we are all benefitting from that.

Before I move on from the new lights at Canterbury, I must mention the refurbished Pavilion and Ames Stand. I know there has been a lot of upheaval and dust to contend with, but it looked brilliant on Saturday night under the lights. To look across the ground and see the Ames boxes full and people spilling out of the new sports bar, was a great sight, and I have to add at 20 for 6, the sports bar might have been the best place to be!! It still needs some work to finish off, but the builders have done a top job and all credit to Jamie for his hard work in seeing it through. We are all going to benefit from the new facilities and at a time when we are selling the club to new players or players out of contract this can only be a good thing.

Let's hope the rain stays away and we can look forward to the next few T20 matches and some more exciting games and hopefully a few more points. It will be great to have Jarre back with us and just add that extra quality to our side.

Best wishes,

Farby.