Kent skipper James Tredwell reflects on the season

Kent skipper James Tredwell is coming towards the end of his first season in charge, and it’s safe to say that it’s not been the easiest time for the England spinner. However, with the season drawing to a close, Tredwell is keen to draw on the positives that have come from the season.

The 31 year-old talks in-depth to the Kent Cricket website about national team duty, his plans for 2014, possible new signings and the departure of all-rounder Matt Coles.

You’re currently away with England. How much are you enjoying your latest international experience?

Well, it’s always nice to be back around the lads. Any involvement with the national team is something to savour. I didn’t play in either of the Twenty20 matches but it was good to watch on. The pitch at the Ageas Bowl (in the first game) allowed for a fantastic game of cricket. We saw one man (Aaron Finch) have a great day out but our boys then put on a great showing to get within 39 runs of victory. I guess you could say it’s still quite a big margin but it was a real decent effort by the team. It was an interesting one for me and I guess one of those games where you are happy to have missed out. It was fantastic striking by both teams. Anytime you hit 200, you know you’ve produced a decent score and Finch struck the ball so cleanly – but then so did we in the run chase. It was good to then get a win in the second match, up at Durham, with Alex Hales batting beautifully for us.

Let’s focus now on your Kent career. The Friends Life t20 and Yorkshire Bank 40 competitions are over for the season. How would you assess Kent’s performances in those two competitions?

We got off to a poor start in the t20 and that obviously didn’t help our chances. We didn’t play particularly good cricket first up but, at the back end of five matches, we then played some real good cricket and there were many plus points. The youngsters showed what they can do and we then carried that on into the Yorkshire Bank 40. We played some decent cricket throughout that competition. A couple of the results, where we played well, didn’t go our way but we still played good cricket and I was proud of that. Had we been a bit more clinical in certain situations then we could have even qualified.

Do you expect there to be changes with the squad, in readiness for next season. Do you feel we need to strengthen again?

Yes and no. Let’s not forget that we've got some pretty good players and most have performed at certain points throughout the year. After the opening two months of the season, we saw an upsurge in performance levels across all forms of the game. We’ve not shown enough in Championship cricket to force as many positive results that we want but, again, I feel we’ve played some good cricket in the longest form of the game. Other than three or four sessions, in the games we've lost, I feel we’ve impressed by and large.

Have you spoken to any targets?

Well we’re exploring different avenues as well as securing what we've got at the Club. I’m pleased that some of the younger players seem keen to commit their futures. True enough, we would like to bring in a couple – if we can – and that will hopefully help us to keep progressing. We obviously need to replace Colesy, if we can, as a bowling option. We would like to keep Mitch Claydon so we hope to tie that one up if we can. We will then look at who's around as we want to add a bit of quality and sign players that can add to the group; both on and off the field.

And will some players leave?

We've seen one go already, Colesy, but I don't expect there to be too many more. We would like to keep the majority of the squad together as, we feel, we’ve got a nice nucleus. It would be good to strengthen in a couple of areas to hopefully allow us to force a few more positive results.

A quick word on Matt Coles. He came through the successful Kent pathway. How would you rate his contribution to the Club?

Well he’s shown that he's a good prospect over the last couple of seasons and I hope that he can now find somewhere to fulfil his talents. It’s been well documented that we’ve had a few issues with him so he will have to change, no doubt about that, regardless of where he chooses to go. I hope it’s the right option for him although ultimately that’s down to him.

You’re coming to the end of your first season in charge. How has it been for you?

Well it’s been pretty tough; it’s been a real fact finding mission, if I’m honest. I spent the first couple of months working out what goes on and how it all works. It has been difficult for me but I put everything in to whatever role I’m given and when you are doing well then it’s quite rewarding. I’m enjoying it and look forward to continuing to lead my home Club.