Joe Denly has no regrets at securing his release from the last year of his contract at Middlesex to return to Kent although the batsman knows he cannot walk into the line-up on reputation alone with the county boasting several promising talents.
Kevin Howells (BBC radio)
Undoubted homegrown talents in that team such as Sam Billings and Adam Riley but need to improve consistency in their results. Wait and see.
David Fulton (Sky Sports News)
Obviously I’d love to see my old county have a stronger year. They’ve got the batting, but I have been worried about the bowling – hopefully Matt Coles will get his attitude right and start to fulfil his potential.
It was a case of in with the old at Kent over the winter as not just one but two former players returned to their roots for differing reasons.
Batsman Joe Denly and bowling all-rounder Matt Coles both came through the county’s academy and excelled in the first-team before opting to leave Canterbury and advance their careers elsewhere.
However, Denly’s batting at Middlesex had stalled to the point where he was playing second XI cricket for large parts of the last campaign and although Coles was performing well with Hampshire he failed to settle.
Step forward Kent, whose only signings during the close season were those of their two former players, once they had secured their releases from their respective counties, and while Denly admitted his disappointment at leaving Middlesex he is thrilled to be back at his old stomping ground.
The former England international told ecb.co.uk: “I’m very happy to be back where I grew up and I’m settled back in nicely so looking forward to the season now.
“I was sad to leave Middlesex, who are a very good club and where I made a lot of friends and great memories. Nothing against Middlesex at all, I wish them well and we left on good terms.
“Overall, it was disappointing not to play a full year in the first team, but I’ll learn from that and am looking forward to this season now. It’s made me, if anything, a lot more hungry and determined to do well.”
Reputations will count for little, though, as Denly is all too aware. The 29-year-old may not be given his favoured opening spot alongside club captain Rob Key, with whom he struck up an excellent partnership in his first stint at Kent, as Daniel Bell-Drummond made the position his own last season.
The 21-year-old was Kent’s leading run-scorer in the LV= County Championship during a standout 2014 and the county may be unwilling to change a successful formula, meaning Denly would have to bat in the middle order.
He said: “There are no guarantees over who’s going to play. Just having been around for the last month or so, the young players are very impressive and I can see the competition there already.
“There’s a lot of competition for places which is obviously good for Kent County Cricket Club. Everyone’s got to be at the top of their game if they want to get that first spot in the first game.”
Sam Billings also underlined his growing reputation, taking over behind the stumps from veteran Geraint Jones, who moved to Gloucestershire last August, while some blistering knocks in Kent’s run to the semi-finals of the Royal London One-Day Cup earned him an England Lions call-up.
Spinner Adam Riley was also on duty with the Lions over the winter and has the tag of ‘one for the future’ with regards to senior call-ups, meaning he could continue to keep James Tredwell out of the side as he did for much of last season.
There is some much-needed experience in the line-up, with Key about to enter his 18th season in first-class cricket with Kent, who will be hoping the evergreen Darren Stevens can continue to churn out runs and wickets.
It is, on paper, a very balanced side, if a little light in the fast-bowling department, meaning they should be aiming to better last year's sixth-placed finish in Division Two.
Denly, though, is not expecting immediate joy, preferring instead to take a long term view, as he said: “We’re all hungry for success and we want to be pushing this year but it might not happen straight away, especially in the four-day form.
“We’re quite a young side mixed with a few senior players, we want to be pushing straight back into Division One. With the group of players we’ve got the next few years could be quite exciting, so it’s good to be a part of that.”
Kent
Captain: Rob Key.
Head coach: Jimmy Adams.
In: Joe Denly (Middlesex), Matt Coles (Hampshire)
Out: Geraint Jones (Gloucestershire), Mark Davies (retired)