Stevens set for 25th first-class season
Wednesday 7th April 2021
A name that equally brings adulation from his supporters and fear from those who face him – Darren Ian Stevens will be beginning in his 25th season as a first-class cricketer this month.
‘Stevo’ made his first-class debut for the county of his birth, Leicestershire, as a specialist middle-order batsman, against Cambridge University in April 1997.
Since then, the right-hander has made 308 first-class appearances. But scoring over 15,000 first-class runs at 34.75 only tells one side of the ‘Stevo’ story.
After being a bit of a part-time seamer in his career at Leicestershire, his move to Kent in 2005 signalled his change from being a batsman to one of the best all-rounders to wear a Kent shirt.
It’s estimated that he has bowled nearly 4,830 overs to date in the first class game, and his effectiveness seems to grow year on year – his career red-ball bowling average now stands at just 24.67.
Stevens came to Kent with just six first-class wickets to his name, and has now added 540 to that tally as one of the premium medium pacers on the county circuit. He’s also recorded over 12,000 runs for the county.
The 44-year-old is now part of a prestigious 16-man list to have scored over over 5,000 runs and taken 300 wickets in a first-class career for Kent, and his name appears alongside the likes of Frank Woolley, John Shepherd, Wally Hardinge, Alan Dixon and Mark Ealham.
Alongside a memorable Kent red-ball batting performances against Middlesex in 2005 and Lancashire in 2013, arguably his crowning batting moment came at Headingley in 2019.
Amassing a career-best 237 runs alongside Sam Billings, he recorded a new Kent first-class record for a sixth wicket partnership, putting on 346 with Kent’s Captain.
Looking forward to 2021, and Stevens will want to impress again in his 25th first-class season.
Stevens’ performances in 2020’s Bob Willis Trophy earned him Kent’s Bowler and Player of the Year awards to add to his impressive accolade list as a first class cricketer, taking 29 wickets in five matches at just 15.58.
After his next first-class appearance for Kent, he will surpass the great Kent seamer ‘Nutty’ Martin’s appearance numbers, after already passing the likes of Matthew Fleming and Ted Dillon over the past two seasons.
