Kent Men continued their preparations for the start of the 2026 Rothesay County Championship with their first two-day warm-up against Sussex at the 1st Central County Ground in Hove.
Kent Men’s upcoming 2026 pre-season schedule
Kent’s 2026 pre-season schedule is proudly sponsored by Bayliss Executive Travel Ltd.
23-24 March: Two days of match practice between Kent & Surrey: BEHIND CLOSED DOORS28-30 March: Kent vs. Oxford UCCE (three-day University Match) – the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury: FREE ENTRY
The Spitfires travelled to the South Coast with a pre-arranged agreement to bat for all of the first day and field for all of the second, under sunny skies.
Kent opened the batting on Day One of match practice players that have both signed long-term contract extensions this past year, left-handed opener Ben Compton & Kent Cricket Academy graduate Jaydn Denly.
The pair made 66 together in just 18 overs, with both batters playing what could be argued as opposite roles – Compton, usually known for his patient, technically sound way of building an innings, providing quick runs whilst Denly remained the anchor of the opening stand.
Denly made 29 from 49 deliveries before being caught by former Kent man Jack Leaning from the off-spin of Jack Carson, but Compton remained and shifted his style to be more-to-type; becoming the foil for new batter Sam Northeast, making his first appearance for Kent since his departure back in 2017.
Compton eventually retired out after hitting 41 from 82 deliveries, whilst Northeast went on to make 43 from 73, also retiring out to give Kent’s batters as much time in the middle as possible.
Skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond made 24 before being bowled by a good delivery from new Sussex seamer Tom Price, making his first appearance since his move from Gloucestershire, one of three ‘true’ wickets in the day – Harry Finch caught and bowled by Jack Leaning to end the day’s proceedings.
Two more Kent batters had retired out before the end of play – Joey Evison departed of his own accord after scoring 47, and Chris Benjamin making 46. The not out batter at the end of Day One was Grant Stewart (14* from 23) on his return from international duty with Italy at the ICC Men’s T20 World Cup.
All of Kent’s batters hit at least one boundary on the first day’s play, and ended on 302/7 having scored at 4.10 an over.
Day Two got off to a perfect start from a Kent perspective – Matt Milnes, back in a Kent shirt following his return from Yorkshire, found Sussex opener Tom Alsop’s edge after just three deliveries in the day ending in a well-made catch from Harry Finch behind the stumps.
Left-arm pacer Mikey Cohen was the next Kent bowler in the wickets, trapping Tom Clark lbw for 24.
Mirroring the previous day, multiple Sussex batters would retire when reaching the half-century mark, and James Coles made 46 before departing.
Jack Leaning was then out lbw to Milnes in the 36th over of the day, and a late cameo from Kent Academy scholar Olly Butterfill saw him collect a caught and bowled – his six overs of left-arm spin going for 19 runs.
Milnes looked impressive – ending the day with two wickets for just 13 runs in nine overs, including six maidens.
Four Kent bowlers got ten overs apiece in the legs ahead of next week’s behind-closed-doors match practice with Surrey, and Sussex ended proceedings on 264/9.
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