Head Coach Jimmy Adams is positive about the future of Kent Cricket after a season that showed much promise.

The young side made it through to the Quarter Finals in both the Natwest T20 and Royal London One Day Cup competitions, but failed to live up to expectations in Championship cricket.

In a season that was full of highs and lows, the emergence of Sam Northeast as captain, taking over from Rob Key, was a real highlight, scoring over 2,000 runs across all formats, whilst Matt Coles bagged a hundred wickets in his first season back at Canterbury.

For Adams, looking back at 2015 as a whole, there were more positives than negatives and it was a season that shows promise for the future:

“I was very, very pleased with the way we approached white ball cricket over the course of the season and we made our mark nationally.”

“It was unfortunate that in both competitions that we didn’t go past the Quarter Finals.”

“Looking back, I’m very proud of the way the boys went about their business, the style of cricket we played and the way we handled certain situations.”

“I think I speak on behalf of all the players that we are disappointed with how we did in Championship cricket.”

“There’s no doubt in my mind that we collectively are a better team than we showed over the course of the season.”

“Over the winter we will go over everything and I think there is too much ability in this squad to be happy with our four day game and we need to look how we move forward in that competition.”

On thing missing this season was an overseas signing and some fans have questioned whether that might have made the difference and would have helped propel Kent into a final, but Adams isn’t a man for thinking what might have been:

“If you have a top quality player, you could say it might have potentially made a difference, but in hindsight, I would say we already had enough here to win matches.”

“I would prefer to put good pressure on the talent that we have with a view to them becoming match winners.”

“I don’t like dwelling on what we didn’t have and we did have a squad capable of winning a white ball tournament and one that could have done better in four day cricket.”

“If in the future an overseas player comes in, then fine. With the right player it possibly strengthens the squad.”

This week Daniel Bell-Drummond flew to Dubai with the England Performance Programme after another fine season for Kent and Adams is hoping the talented batsman learns lots whilst with the international set up and is unconcerned as to whether he will see his game suffer after spin bowler Adam Riley had his action changed last winter:

“He is one of a number of players that I look at and think they are dry sponges. If you put them in an environment where they can learn and improve, and where they will get stretched, you will get back a much better player.”

“I’m very happy for Daniel and I have no doubt that it will impact on his game positively.”

“Adam Riley’s situation is what it is and he is now at a point where he has a level of clarity in terms of what he is and who he is.”

“He wouldn’t have had that if he hadn’t gone through that situation and it’s better that he went through that at 22 and not 27.”

“He’s a stronger person for it and clearer in his head what works for him and however players get that clarity I’ll take it.”

“I don’t lose sleep over what happened with Adam and I won’t lose any sleep over Daniel being in a high performance environment.”

When any season comes to an end, fans and the club have time to reflect on how things went and Kent are no different.

Adams still has a year left to serve on his current contract and he’s not thinking too far beyond that at the moment, but is certainly enjoying his time at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence:

“I’m still really excited coming to work every day. Years is a long time and we’ll see. All I will say is I’ve had a very enjoyable season and I’d like to think I am adding value here.”

“There’s a lot more to come from this group and in the bigger scheme of things it would be great to be part of that journey.”

“For someone who has been around a long time, six months, a year or two years is a long time in sport.”

“Currently, it’s a massive honour for me to still be part of watching individuals and a side develop.”

“The bottom line is I ask myself is it still fun and it is.”

As Rob Key comes towards the end of his playing career, stepping down from the captaincy seems to have given the 36 year old batsman a new lease of life.

The transition from Key to Sam Northeast has been pretty seemless and the former England batsman looked back to his best towards the end of the season without the pressures of running the team.

With a year left to run on his contract too, Adams is hoping Key decides to carry on playing for more years to come and admits he is a large personality in the Kent dressing room:

“The level of influence that Keysey has is undeniable.”

“It’s not just on the field, but also off the field. The way in which all of the players, from the youngest, right up to the most senior have respect for him is something that any organisation would look to utilise to its fullest potential.”

“To be in a situation where you have a young leader starting to in a sense earn his stripes, earning the total respect of the people he is being asked to lead at an age where is going to learn leadership as he goes along.”

“Succession planning is a healthy position to be in and I’m hoping we have at least one more year with Rob around.”

“I’m hoping that one year becomes a few more as I am confident that he is capable of scoring a lot more runs in English cricket.”

As for Adams, having spent time reflecting on the past season, setting up who is going where around the world over the winter and arranging coaching plans, the Head Coach will head home to the West Indies in Decemeber before returning to Kent in the New Year refreshed for the new season ahead.