Willis delighted with Tredwell’s contribution

PROFESSIONAL Cricket Manager, Simon Willis, has paid tribute to spinner James Tredwell after he played a key role in victory on the final day of Kent“s LV County Championship victory over Glamorgan at Canterbury. The off-spinner returned career-best bowling figures of eight for 66 to inspire Kent to a 204-run victory.

Commenting on Tredwell“s contribution, Willis said: ‘His all-round game is in good shape at the moment. He has batted well, for long periods of time, when the team has needed it and he is doing a fantastic job with the ball for us. James is a good cricketer and he is really showing that at the moment.“

So why such a good start to the new season? ‘I think a lot of it goes down to hard work. We did a bit of technical work over the winter and asked James to put a bit more dip on the ball. I think that is helping. We also brought Min Patel in to chat about tactics and bowling in the four-day game. It certainly seems to be paying off.“

After a last day win at Essex this time last week, Kent repeated the dose to move up to second in the Championship table and Willis is naturally pleased with the current form: ‘It“s certainly been a different way of winning four-day cricket but it“s proving effective! Apart from Northants, sadly we haven“t performed really well on the first day of four-day cricket but we know we can get better and make it easier for ourselves so that is what we will try to do moving forward.“

Finally, with the unfortunate absence of Graham Ford, it“s been all hands to the pump at St Lawrence and Willis is full of praise for the whole team: ‘Things are moving along nicely. We“ve gone top of the table in the Championship but we“ve still got a long way to go in the season. We“ve obviously brought in Geoff Arnold and he is proving a massive help on all fronts. Phil Relf (Academy Director) and Nimmo Reid (physio) have also put in excellent effort when required and the team is certainly reaping the rewards. I would also like to thank the senior players because they have also played their part too.“

Picture of Simon Willis and Nimmo Reid courtesy of Anthony Roberts of ARPictures