Kent will be smarting from their loss to Middlesex in the last round, having looked in control of the game with Middlesex 81/3, still needing another 284 to win. They have a game in hand over the sides above them in Division Two and will move into second spot with a win against bottom club Glamorgan this week. Kent already have wins against Northamptonshire and Middlesex, the quirks of the timetable meaning they have played the latter county twice in three weeks.
The loss against Middlesex was despite a double century from skipper, Daniel Bell-Drummond, a batter that has never quite reached the levels expected. Ben Compton leads their run scoring with 405 at 57.85, including two centuries, while Zak Crawley has made half centuries in each of the last three matches. Chris Benjamin made his Championship debut in the last game, replacing Harry Finch behind the stumps, Finch having suffered a finger injury.
Nathan Gilchrist leads the wicket taking with 15 at 23.46, but he missed the last game following a concussion. He will hopefully have recovered and in the meantime Kent have brought in young all rounder Jamal Richards from Essex on a two match loan. He went wicketless against Middlesex, but George Garrett returned after a finger injury. Grant Stewart took ten wickets in the first three games, but he is also out with an abdominal injury. The good news is that Joey Evison is making significant contributions with bat and ball, while Matt Parkinson was included for the first time last week, taking five wickets.
Glamorgan put up a much improved performance last week against Derbyshire having lost two of their first three games, drawing against Gloucestershire, having been asked to follow on. The first three matches were played with just three frontline seamers and the inclusion of Shoaib Bashir backfired, with him taking just two wickets at 152. Nevertheless these figures don’t seem to deter England from sticking with him.
Ned Leonard leads Glamorgan’s wicket taking with 10 at 37.40, while Andy Gorvin has nine at 18.55, having been sidelined for two of the matches to accommodate Bashir. They have not seen much return from their overseas signing, Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando, who has taken just seven wickets at 66.14, four of those in the first innings of the season. The normally reliable Timm van der Gugten has also struggled, taking seven wickets in three matches so far. The one success story is 21-year-old spinning all rounder Ben Kellaway, who registered career best numbers with bat and ball in the last game.
The Glamorgan batting has been inconsistent, heavily reliant on Colin Ingram, who has 381 runs at 54.42. Kiran Carlson has scored 304 runs at 38.00, while Zain ul Hassan is starting to find his feet as an opener. The concern for Glamorgan is the form of Sam Northeast, who has just 172 runs at 21.50.
Kent will be keen to put their third win on the board after the disappointment of last week, and will start favourites.
Key players:
Joey Evison moved to Kent from Nottinghamshire initially on loan in 2022, before making it permanent prior to the 2023 season. He came through the Lincolnshire development pathway, making his debut for Notts in 2019, at the age of 17. A young seam bowling all rounder, he is already approaching 2000 first class runs, averaging 30.09 and taken 70 wickets at 38.50.
Ben Kellaway first came to note in the one-day competition, taking wickets bowling his orthodox spin out of both right and left hands. Bowling alongside Bashir this season, he certainly did not look the junior partner, and so far has scored 205 runs at 34.16 and taken nine wickets at 28.33, figures worthy of all rounder status. He benefits from being tall and at 21 he still has plenty to learn, but Glamorgan supporters will be hopeful of him progressing.
Team News:
Kent have a number of injury problems, particularly with their bowlers. Joe Denly also remains sidelined. Crawley will presumably be rested prior to the upcoming Test match.
Kent squad (from): Daniel Bell-Drummond (c), Kashif Ali, Chris Benjamin (wk), Ben Compton, Jaydn Denly, Joey Evison, Harry Finch, George Garrett, Jack Leaning, Tawanda Muyeye, Matt Parkinson, Jamal Richards, Ekansh Singh
The Glamorgan injury list has shortened with just Dan Douthwaite currently out of action. James Harris, Jamie McIlroy and Mason Crane have all been involved in second team action and it looks likely that Harris and Crane will come into the squad.
Glamorgan squad (from): Sam Northeast (c), Eddie Byrom, Kiran Carlson, Chris Cooke (wk), Mason Crane, Asitha Fernando, Andrew Gorvin, James Harris, Colin Ingram, Ben Kellaway, Ned Leonard, Billy Root, Asa Tribe, Zain ul-Hassan, Timm van der Gugten
Weather and Conditions
The dry sunny weather is set to continue, with temperatures reaching the low 20’s for the latter half of the match.
There has been a draw and a win from the two games played at Canterbury so far this season and the hope will be for a good contest between bat and ball.
Date: 9th May 2025
Time: 11:00
Ground: The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury
