Kent to reap the rewards

It's difficult to actually figure out how Kent managed to get themselves relegated in the County Championship last season. With Rob Key at the helm, they have as dynamic a captain you will find in the domestic game, together with a group of talented young cricketers that have not failed to catch the eye of the England selectors.
Earlier this week Amjad Khan was called up to the full Test squad as cover for the injured Andrew Flintoff having left fellow team-mates Joe Denly and Key in New Zealand with the Lions squad.

Now Robbie Joseph has been called as a replacement for Khan ensuring there are still three Kent players in the Lions squad. The England Lions are finally being used as they should - as a back up to the main England squad and with three (four including Amjad) Kent boys included, the future bodes well for the county. But with all this talent at their disposal it makes you wonder how they were relegated at the end of last season for the first time in their history.

It's amazing to see just how far Joseph has come over the course of the last year. I remember seeing him as a raw 15-year-old in the nets at St Lawrence and you could tell he had a bit about him even then. It was probably his pace that was most impressive. Having made his First Class debut a few years later, his career seemed to stagnate with injuries, loss of form and it appeared to me that he had lost a yard or two of pace.

After overcoming injury before the start of last season, Joseph worked really hard in pre-season under the watchful eye of director of cricket, Graham Ford. The South African and coach Simon Willis, spent many an hour on the field working with Joseph before games and in between innings to get him back on track. They performed the same service for Khan.

With those two spearheading the Kent attack in Division Two, and Key and Denly at the top of the batting card, surely it should be an instant return, Shouldn't it?

Glenn Pearson