Head coach Adam Hollioake insists Kent still can have one of their best-ever seasons.<\/p>\n
Spitfires will return to action after a 12-day break when they start a latest One-Day Cup campaign as they play Northamptonshire Steelbacks in Canterbury tomorrow, having failed to qualify for the Vitality T20 Blast knockout stages.<\/p>\n
Kent head coach Adam Hollioake. Photo: Stuart Watson<\/p>\n
But Kent remain in the County Championship Division 2 promotion hunt and hopes are high they can do well in the 50-over competition, as well.<\/p>\n
They used the One-Day Cup as a chance to blood several youngsters, including Jaydn Denly, Ben Dawkins, Ekansh Singh, Corey Flintoff and Olly Curtiss, last year, although the main goal remains clear for Hollioake.<\/p>\n
He said: \u201cWe\u2019re trying to win it, mate.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe way I look at it, we\u2019re out of the T20s now, and there is no point crying over spilt milk.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf we were to win Division 2 or get promotion, we\u2019d be happy with that and, if we were to add the One-Day Cup to that, I think it would be one of Kent\u2019s most successful seasons. We have got to look at that.<\/p>\n
Tawanda Muyeye – is one of just three Kent players that will not feature in the county\u2019s One-Day Cup campaign as he turns out in The Hundred competition. Picture: Barry Goodwin<\/p>\n
\u201cWe have to pick ourselves up after this disappointment and look at those two things.\u201d<\/p>\n
With the One-Day Cup schedule clashing with The Hundred competition again, many county clubs will have to do without some of their bigger-name players.<\/p>\n
But Spitfires skipper Sam Billings (Trent Rockets), England international Zak Crawley (Sunrisers Leeds) and batsman Tawanda Muyeye (Manchester Super Giants) are the sole Kent men that will turn out in The Hundred, meaning all other fit players should be available.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t care what anyone else is doing,\u201d said Hollioake, who was an England One-Day International captain in the 1990s. \u201cIf I play you at table tennis, mate, I\u2019m trying to win – although I haven\u2019t seen what your table tennis is like! But I\u2019ll try and win.<\/p>\n
\u201cYou can guarantee, if there is a professional game of cricket going on, I will be trying to win it. The players feel the same way.<\/p>\n
Ben Dawkins – was afforded first-team experience in Kent\u2019s 2025 50-over campaign. Picture: Keith Gillard<\/p>\n
\u201cIf they put us in the Tiddlywinks League next year, we\u2019d be trying to win that, too. I have never understood people asking \u2018Are you trying to win it?\u2019.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re trying to win every competition we enter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Denly, 20, and 19-year-old fellow all-rounder Singh are still among those expected to be handed more first-team chances in the One-Day Cup.<\/p>\n