From the DoC’s desk: Men’s Metro Bank One Day Cup review
With Kent Men’s Metro Bank One Day Cup campaign now over for 2026, Kent’s Director of Cricket, Simon Cook, provides an update reviewing the tournament as well as looking ahead to the run-in of the Rothesay County Championship.
Metro Bank One Day Cup overview
Whilst it was a disappointing end to the tournament for us given the strength of the players available, I think there are definitely some positives to take from this Summer’s One Day Cup.
Firstly, we made home advantage count. We won all of our home fixtures, and some of them were in dramatic fashion. Chasing down big totals against Somerset in Canterbury and Notts Outlaws at Beckenham showed that we are capable of batting well under pressure. The main caveat from this, of course, is our away form, and how we assess and adapt to unknown conditions to get the win.
I think we also fielded very well, with good intent shown to limit scoring opportunities, and on multiple occasions we used our fielding to back up some good spells with the ball.
Matt Milnes bowled very well throughout the competition, continuing his great start to the season in the Rothesay County Championship. He averaged only 16.66 and was a wicket-taking threat throughout the tournament, which got him a personal reward of a short-term contract with Trent Rockets in The Hundred.
Whilst I understand some Members & supporters’ frustrations that we can potentially lose One Day Cup squad members to The Hundred, we need to keep in mind the players’ perspective. Playing in The Hundred can come at a big financial reward for the players, and they have all earned the right to play in it.
These call-ups come off the back of strong performances for Kent, and whilst they may be missed in the short term, it provides opportunities for other players to step up and compete for regular first-team cricket.
Daniel Bell-Drummond was also outstanding with the bat, leading from the front as Captain and opener. He scored two centuries that contributed towards victories, and highlights that he is one of the most exciting batters to watch in county cricket.
The likes of Harry Finch & Chris Benjamin also provided invaluable middle-order runs.
Emergence of young talent
I think from my perspective, the most encouraging outcome of this tournament were the performances of Ekansh Singh & Jaydn Denly.
Ekansh averaged 31.00 with the bat and 26.58 with the ball, and has made a lot of progress as an all-rounder over the last few months. We
saw him start to break out during the County Championship, which earned him a T20 debut, and in 50-Over competition, we felt that we could rely on him during tricky spells with both bat and ball. Kent Members and supporters should be excited by his potential, and also that of Jaydn.
Jaydn also contributed in both disciplines, as well as his high intensity in the field. His half century at Surrey in front of a big One Day Cup crowd and his ability to contribute with wickets across all matches shows that he too is progressing nicely following his T20 debut earlier this Summer.
Whilst Ben Dawkins didn’t score the runs he’d like, he’s also shown in the County Championship and England Lions performances that he is getting more and more ready to push for first-team places across multiple formats going forward.
We missed Corey Flintoff for the tournament because of a virus, but once he has fully recovered, he has the opportunity to feature in our upcoming fixtures, as well as Olly Curtiss.
Joe Denly’s retirement
We also said goodbye to a modern-day Kent legend in Joe Denly during this tournament.
I’ve already said how much he has given to this Club, and Friday 31 July vs. Somerset was a fantastic send-off for him. Both he and his family are extremely grateful for all of the warmth and appreciation shown to him since he announced his retirement at the end of the season.
His contract for this Summer is a white-ball one, so we won’t be seeing Joe featuring in the run-in of the County Championship. It was a fitting tribute that the first man born in Canterbury to play Test cricket for England ended his 23-year pro career at the St Lawrence Ground.
There is a physical book for Kent Members and supporters to write their messages for Joe at the Kent Cricket Shop, which will be presented to him at our annual End of Season Dinner. You can also leave a message digitally via the Kent Cricket website, which will be added to the book:
Leave your message here
Overseas players
Keith Dudgeon has been available for us in all formats this Summer, and he will continue to be part of our plans heading into the return of the County Championship.
As with all of our bowlers, we’ll need to ensure that he gets the right amount of rest and recuperation to keep him performing at his best during the next block of fixtures, which is why we’re lucky to have other bowlers at our disposal.
It’ll be great to welcome back Hasan Mahmud to Kent this September. He made a big impression during the first half of his overseas stint and he will be a big asset for us in September, where the majority of our Championship matches are at home – meaning we’re more in control of preparations at Canterbury.
Unfortunately, and frustratingly, we’ve been informed by Cricket South Africa (CSA) that they have withdrawn their No Objections Certificate for Senuran Muthusamy, who was originally set to join us from the start of the Vitality Blast, which was then amended by CSA to 1 August, and now taken off the table completely just as he was set to arrive.
Rest assured that we are working quickly and decisively to strengthen our squad before the return of the County Championship following this disappointing news from South Africa.
Refocusing to County Championship cricket
Something that’s often talked about in county cricket is the need to switch mindset between changes in format.
The opportunity we now have is to switch our focus back on the County Championship following our exit from the One Day Cup.
Players here that are more associated with this format have still been training hard with our coaches here and also playing for their respective Kent Cricket League clubs, ready for a return to the side in the coming weeks.
Thank you for your support
Finally, thank you for all of your support during this Summer’s One Day Cup.
We never take your backing for granted, both home and away, and all of us, players and coaches included, thank you for continuing to get behind us.
We hope to see you all for the Championship run-in, as we look to push for the promotion places.
The Rothesay County Championship concludes in Canterbury this September
Get your tickets now to save on on-the-day prices:
Get your tickets here
Entry is included in all Kent Memberships & Youth/Junior Season Tickets!
