The Rothesay County Championship returns for two weeks, as Kent face Lancashire at Blackpool Cricket Club ahead of the 174th Canterbury Cricket Week.
Home 2026 Rothesay County Championship tickets are available to purchase now:
Next Home Match 
Kent Men open the 174th Canterbury Cricket Week with a Rothesay County Championship match against Middlesex at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury:
Get your Canterbury Cricket Week tickets here
Entry is INCLUDED in all 2026 Kent Memberships & Youth/Junior Season Tickets!
Last Time Out in the County Championship
A century from Ben Raine helped Durham to a draw in their Rothesay County Championship Division Two match with Kent at Beckenham.
At one point Durham looked likely to have to follow on when they were reduced to 288 for nine – Ekansh Singh and Matt Milnes both took three wickets, while James Taylor bowled England captain Ben Stokes for 45.
Opposition Report
Previewed by Graham Hardcastle, ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay
Captain: Sir James AndersonHead coach: Steven Croft2025 finish: 5th2025 leading run-scorer: Luke Wells (1,074)2025 leading wicket-taker: George Balderson (40)
Former captain Steven Croft has been appointed permanent head coach after an interim spell during the second half of 2025 and Sir James Anderson as Rothesay County Championship skipper. Ajeet Singh Dale and Paul Coughlin have arrived to bolster the fast-bowling stocks, with Australia A quick Mitch Perry signing an early-season overseas deal. Perry joins Victoria teammate Marcus Harris, the prolific batter who is halfway through a two-year overseas contract. Seamer Will Williams has gone to Gloucestershire.
The Red Rose start the Summer as favourites to win Division Two, and it’s no surprise. They struggled to get out of the blocks last season and, despite finishing well, had left themselves with too much to do. Keaton Jennings resigned as red-ball captain in May, while Dale Benkenstein left his role as head coach. Things look a lot more settled now, which should boost chances of a faster start.
New recruit Ajeet Singh Dale, from Gloucestershire, made two England Lions appearances in 2024 and 2025. He’s within four wickets of 100 in his Championship career. With significant pace and skill, and at the age of 25, he has every chance of breaking into the Test match plans if he can hit the ground running at Emirates Old Trafford.
Steven Croft, who has added ex-England quick Kabir Ali to his backroom staff as the new bowling coach, wants success across the board in 2026. He aims to convert an excellent record of reaching Vitality Blast Finals Days into silverware, for example. But he did recently admit one goal stands above the rest, saying: “We want to win the County Championship, and we can’t do that in Division Two. The main goal is promotion.”
Weather Watch
Follow Kent Cricket on X to receive live updates on prospects of play should there be any delays.
Live Match Centre
Lancashire vs. Kent will be live streamed & embedded into the Match Centre on the Kent Cricket website.
Sound & pictures will be provided by the host county.
Team News
Bangladesh Test fast bowler Hasan Mahmud has joined the Club for six Rothesay County Championship matches, spanning from June until the end of the season, subject to regulatory approval.
The 26-year-old will be available for Kent’s two Championship fixtures this month – away at Lancashire from 12 until 15 June, and then Middlesex at home during the 174th Canterbury Cricket Week from 19 until 22 June.
Hasan will then return to Kent for four Championship matches to conclude the season across September.
A full squad for this match will be confirmed in due course.
174th Canterbury Cricket Week
Canterbury Cricket Week, the oldest surviving cricket festival in the world, takes place this June!
Canterbury Cricket Week in 2026 will begin with Kent Men’s Rothesay County Championship fixture at home to Middlesex from Friday 19 June, before two Men’s Vitality Blast matches: Kent Spitfires’ first ever Crossover Match against Notts Outlaws on Friday 26 June, and Kent Spitfires vs. Hampshire Hawks on Sunday 28 June.
Kent Women will once again be an integral part of Canterbury Cricket Week – Sunday 28 June is one of two Vitality Blast Double Headers at the St Lawrence Ground this Summer, with the Horses taking on Northamptonshire Steelbacks Women before Spitfires vs. Hawks. This will be the first ever Kent Men & Women Double Header to take place during ‘Canterbury Week’.
Get your Canterbury Cricket Week tickets here
