Seamer Mitch Claydon felt Kent “didn’t move forward” after the Spitfires failed to reach the quarter-final stage of the NatWest T20 Blast competition.

The Spitfires finished in seventh place in a competitive nine-team South Group, three points behind Essex, who went through in the fourth qualifying spot.

A 37-run defeat to Surrey at The Kia Oval last night was Kent’s final group game of the competition this season, and having won the group on their way to a quarter-final last year, Claydon felt that the side had not quite done themselves justice.

“We had a few poor performances in there, and five bad overs in this form of cricket can hurt you really badly”, he told KSN after the game.

“I think if we’re honest, from where we were last year, we raised the bar hugely last year, and every side was out to chase us this year, and we probably didn’t move forward. That’s a challenge moving forward for next year and years on, that we need to get better at this format. If you stand still for even a short period of time, sides will get better, and I think that’s what’s happened to us this year.

“We were probably only a win away from qualifying really, with a couple of soft losses in there. But we’re still in two forms of cricket in August, so I think that’s a positive we can take moving forward. We’re still challenging in the One Day competition, and we’re in amongst it in the Championship, so it’s what we’ve got to look forward to now.”

With Kent still in with a good shout of a place in the knockout rounds of the Royal London One Day Cup competition, Claydon is hopeful that the side can return to winning ways on Sunday, at home to Gloucestershire, in the 50-over format.

“I think we’re learning in that as well”, he said.

“We had a good time last year, and we’ve had a couple of soft losses in it this year, but we’ve played some good cricket over the last month. Moving forward on Sunday, we’ve just got to keep playing that same brand of cricket we have, and try and post totals and defend it. Hopefully that’s one competition that we can kick forward on now.”

The 33-year-old Australian also said he would love the opportunity to play in a Lord’s final, having never reached a final at the Home of Cricket in his time with Kent, or prior to that at Durham and Yorkshire.

He also admitted that he was keen to get his contract sorted out, with his current one finishing at the end of this season.

“Any time I got there with Durham, I was out injured – I had stress fractures – so it would be special”, he explained.

“And with this group of players – I’ve been here for a few years – it would be very special. With not knowing what’s going on with my future at the moment, it would be ideal to get to a Lord’s final!

“I want to stay at Kent. My intentions all along have been that I want to stay at Kent. I love the place, the people – I’ve made it a little home, so hopefully we can get something sorted.”

The seamer also told KSN that he was hopeful that his senior role in the side now, and performances in all three forms of cricket, would help secure him a new contract at Canterbury.

“Playing all forms has to help, doesn’t it”, he said.

“Two years ago, I think I had even a bigger workload – my first year down here at Kent. Last year, I just played white ball cricket. I had a lot to prove this year when I came back, because I knew that I had a lot more to offer with the red ball, and in my opinion, red ball is still my favourite challenge, and the cricket that I enjoy playing the most.

“Don’t get me wrong, it’s great playing in front of 25,000 people, but four-day cricket for me is something where you can look back at the end of the year, and if you’ve got 50 wickets, you know you’ve earned them, especially on these pitches at the moment.”

Photographs courtesy of Sarah Ansell Photography