Match Preview: Kent vs. Gloucestershire

The curtain comes down on the 2026 season at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury as Kent Men take on Gloucestershire in the Rothesay County Championship.

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!

Please note: as this match is being played in September, timings have been brought forward by 30 minutes.

Kent head into this final match week of the 2026 season in second place of County Championship Division Two, four points ahead of Northamptonshire.

The top two teams from Division Two will be promoted to Division One of the 2027 Rothesay County Championship, with Durham already confirmed as winners of Division Two in first place.

As a reminder, the following number of points are on offer for County Championship fixtures:

• 16 points for a win, plus any points scored in the first innings
• Each side to score 8 points in a tie, plus any points scored in the first innings
• In a drawn match, each side to score 8 points, plus any points scored in the first innings

Bonus points are accrued only in each team’s first innings, in the following way:

• A maximum of five batting points are available before 110 overs of each team’s first innings have been bowled:
  • 250 to 299 runs: 1 point
  • 300 to 349 runs: 2 points
  • 350 to 399 runs: 3 points
  • 400 to 449 runs: 4 points
  • 450 runs or over: 5 points
• A maximum of three bowling points are available before 110 overs of each team’s first innings have been bowled:
  • 3 to 5 wickets taken: 1 point
  • 6 to 8 wickets taken: 2 points
  • 9 to 10 wickets taken: 3 points

For each over (fractions to be ignored) that a side has bowled short of the target number of 16 overs per hour across the match, 1 point will be deducted from their Rothesay County Championship total at the conclusion of the fixture as follows:

• 1 over short of the match target: 1 point deduction
• 2 overs short of the match target: 2 points deduction and so on

Only matches in which a team has bowled for 8 hours or more (net of time allowed for wickets taken and umpires’ allowances) in the match will be subject to over-rate penalties.

With a four-point gap heading into the final round of fixtures, Kent will need to keep ahead of, or level with, Northamptonshire’s final points tally to get promoted to Division One for next Summer. Northamptonshire play their final match away to Middlesex at Lord’s Cricket Ground.

If Kent & Northamptonshire finish on the same number of points, the following tie-breakers will be applied in the order stated:

1. Most wins (Kent currently have 7, Northamptonshire have 5)
2. Fewest losses
3. When all teams that are equal on points have played each other the same number of times, teams will be ordered in accordance with the number of points achieved in the matches between those teams (over-rate penalties shall be included in this calculation). This tiebreaker shall be ignored if the teams that are equal on points haven’t played each other the same number of times
4. Most wickets taken
5. Most runs scored

---

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!

---

Please note: as this match is being played in September, timings have been brought forward by 30 minutes.

Important matchday information for Members, Youth/Junior Season Ticket holders & those that have purchased matchday tickets can be accessed via the button below:

View Matchday Information

We strongly advise that all Members & spectators travelling to the ground make use of public transport.

The St Lawrence Ground is located approximately a mile from the historic Cathedral City Centre of Canterbury.

View the St Lawrence Ground guide

---

Matchday tours of the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury

Learn about the history of the ground, visit parts that other spectators cannot always reach, and learn about the people, events – and trees – that have made our home so famous and well-loved since its first match in 1847.

Tours are conducted during the Lunch interval on the second day of home Rothesay County Championship fixtures.

Each tour will last approximately 40 minutes and our guides will be happy to answer any questions you might have at the end of the tour.

Tickets cost £5 for adults (accompanied under 16s are free) and, with only 12 spaces available for each tour, these can sell out quickly.

We recommend that you purchase your ticket in advance from the Club’s online retail shop to avoid disappointment on the day:

Get your tickets here

---

Members’ Forum

A Members’ Forum will take place during the Tea interval on Day One (Thursday 24 September) of this fixture, inside the Ames Levett Indoor Sports Centre.

Kent Members must show their valid 2026 Membership Card at the door for entry.

---

Members’ Areas update

This fixture will take place using Pitch number 17 at the St Lawrence Ground.

To ensure that the sight screens function correctly and to minimise delays during play, there will be no access or exit for Members into and from the Chiesman Pavilion via the glass doors facing the outfield for this match.

Members can still access Chiesman Pavilion via the entrance on The Drive, near the vehicle entrance to the ground.

---

Members’ ‘Have a Drink on Us’ vouchers

A reminder to all Members that the ‘Have a Drink on Us’ vouchers that Members received in their 2026 Membership packs will expire after this fixture.

If you are a Kent Member and have not yet used your vouchers for 2026, this is your final opportunity to do so.

---

Weather Watch

• Buy your tickets with confidence – should there be less than 16 overs are bowled per day, excluding when less than 16 overs are bowled in a day but a result is reached or on the final scheduled day of a match when at least one ball is bowled, ticketholders will be offered a ticket voucher of equivalent value of their ticket purchase.
  • This will be valid for any home matchday in the remaining season of the affected matchday, as well as for any home matchday for the following season of the affected matchday

View Compensation Policy

---

Last Time Out

Previewed by Richard Latham, ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay

• Captain: Cameron Bancroft
• Head Coach: Mark Alleyne
• 2025 finish: 6th
• 2025 highest run-scorer: James Bracey (1,010)
• 2025 highest wicket-taker: Ajeet Singh Dale (40)

Australian pace bowler Gabe Bell is available for the first six Rothesay County Championship games and is expected to relish English conditions, while the recruitment of Will Williams from Lancashire and the return of Craig Miles from Warwickshire will further strengthen a seam attack depleted by the moves of Josh Shaw, Ajeet Singh Dale, Tom Price and Zaman Akhter to Somerset, Lancashire, Sussex and Essex respectively.

We’ll see if Ben Charlesworth can continue his development into a genuine big-hitting all-rounder. The powerful left-hander looks set to open the batting with skipper Cameron Bancroft after scoring 914 Championship runs at an average of nearly 40 last season. Having made his debut at 17, 25-year-old Charlesworth is now a seasoned first XI player and has been working on his right-arm seam bowling, which brought 16 Championship wickets in 2025.

After suffering a dip in form following two Test appearances against New Zealand in 2021, James Bracey looked back to his best last season, averaging 50.5 in 24 Championship innings. A capable wicketkeeper, Bracey earned a reputation for sound defence in his early Gloucestershire career but has developed his shot-making and was Gloucestershire’s leading six-hitter in four-day cricket during 2025.

The appointment of Jon Lewis as director of cricket last October means that, along with head coach Mark Alleyne, Gloucestershire go into the new season with two of their most experienced former players at the helm. Lewis took 849 first class wickets during his playing career as a seamer and it will be fascinating to see how he can influence a new-look pace attack, which will need to gel quickly if the team are to challenge for promotion.

---

Kent vs. Gloucestershire – first-class statistical history

The Club’s Honorary Statistician, Howard Milton, takes a look at the first-class history between Kent & Gloucestershire:

Find out more here

---

Live Match Centre

Kent vs. Gloucestershire will be live streamed via the Club’s official YouTube channel for free & embedded into the Match Centre on the Kent Cricket website.

View Match Centre

Sound & commentary will be provided by BBC Radio Kent.

---

Team News

Men’s Head Coach Adam Hollioake has named a squad of 14 for the final match of the 2026 season.

All of the Playing XI that defeated Lancashire in three days last time out have been selected, led by Club Captain, Daniel Bell-Drummond.

Hasan Mahmud has been recalled by the Bangladesh Cricket Board ahead of their busy Winter schedule, and is therefore not available for Kent’s final fixture of the season.

Fellow overseas bowlers Keith Dudgeon & Khaled Ahmed have both been selected. Khaled made his home debut last week, and finished the match with bowling figures of 8-94, including his first non-international five-wicket haul in first-class cricket outside of Bangladesh.

Off-spinning all-rounder Bertie Foreman signed a short-term contract until the end of the season earlier this month, and is included for the final fixture of his deal with the Club.

Chris Benjamin will once more take the gloves, with Harry Finch unavailable for selection following a recent irritation of an old injury.

Joey Evison has joined Sussex on loan for the remainder of the Summer ahead of his permanent move to Hove on 1 October.

Jaydn Denly remains out with an ankle injury, and Corey Flintoff is continuing his recovery following a viral infection.

Mikey Cohen, Olly Curtiss, Matt Parkinson & Jas Singh have not been selected.

Sam Billings & Fred Klaassen are on white-ball contracts, and are therefore not considered for selection in the County Championship.

Another white-ball contracted player, Joe Denly, played his final match for Kent on 31 July during the Metro Bank One Day Cup, before his retirement at the end of the season. Denly has been working with the squad in training as a batting mentor.

Kent’s Match Squad, presented by Tassells Solicitors >>>

---

Have your say

You can contact the Club with any feedback via the button below:

Contact us

---

Club Memberships for the 2027 season are now available to purchase!

Whether you’re renewing your Membership for another season or joining for the first time, Club Membership remains the most cost-effective way to watch every scheduled day of home Kent Men’s & Women’s cricket in 2027.

Become a 2027 Club Member here

If you’re renewing your Membership for 2027, please log into your Kent Cricket ticketing account before renewing to access your special renewal price:

Renew your Membership here

You can also purchase a Club Membership as a Gift for the Kent supporter in your life as we head towards the festive season:

View Gifting FAQs

Club Membership has a host of benefits, including:

• Guaranteed entry to ALL scheduled home matches, even if they sell out
• Access to all Member areas
• Exclusive discounts & extra complimentary tickets for friends & family
• A 10% discount on additional tickets, Kent Cricket retail and at Kent Cricket bars
• Priority access to any home knockout match, should Kent qualify
• Priority access & discounted tickets to England Women vs. Bangladesh Women at the St Lawrence Ground in September 2027
• Voting rights & access to frequent Members’ Forums throughout the season

Additionally, you can add the following extras to your Membership at the point of purchase:

• A Friend Pass – giving you an extra pass to bring a friend or family member with you to each home matchday
• Parking Priority – access to any available Ground Parking at the St Lawrence Ground before it goes on general sale

Become a 2027 Club Member here

Information on other Annual Packages will be shared in the coming months before going on sale.

View 2027 Annual Package FAQs