Chief Executive Jamie Clifford is hoping Kent Cricket fans come out in their numbers for Canterbury Week starting on Wednesday.

With the weather set to be glorious for the rest of the week, cricket fans could be in for a real treat as Gloucestershire come to Canterbury for Kent’s latest County Championship game.

Unbeaten in their last seven County Championship matches and with a win against Gloucestershire under their belts already this season, Clifford is hoping the people of Kent come out to support the side over the next few days in what is traditionally one of the best supported weeks of cricket in the county:

“It’s a showpiece week and an important week for the club in its 162nd year. It is a very important tradition and the oldest cricket week in the world and with that come the responsibility to get it right and do it properly.”

“We’ll have the ground lined with marquees as we usually do and all the traditions of Canterbury week. We’ll have KMFM Ladies Day on Thursday this year and it should be a fabulous festival of cricket.”

With so much still to play for, Clifford believes the side are more than able of winning their final five County Championship fixtures:

“Every game the guys go into and regardless of what they can potentially get at the end of it, they want to win and they’re proud professional cricketers.”

“Our YB40 game against Notts will be played out in front of a very big crowd as it is on Bank Holiday Monday, and the players want to perform in front of big crowds.”

With the club’s game against Warwickshire in the YB40 last week ending in remarkable circumstances, Clifford is hoping fans take up the club’s offer after the game had to be called off when one of the floodlights went out:

“It wasn’t just the floodlight, it was the substation that feeds that floodlight and our PA system. I don’t know whether blew up is the right technical expression, but everybody that will have heard it, will have heard a big bang.”

“That was why the club were unable to make an announcement. It was disappointing on a number of levels, from the result point of view and disappointing that we had such a great crowd in and then something like that happens which is beyond your control.”

“The club’s position from here is that anyone that had a ticket will be able to use it for a day of Championship cricket during Canterbury week, our showpiece week of the year, so if people get along to that, they’ll get back more than they ultimately missed.”

The Chief Executive went on to explain how the umpires came to the decision that no more play would be possible on the night:

“I went and saw the umpires and they were of the view that while they were still on the field that the conditions had become unfit as a consequence of that floodlight going out.”

“I think there were various other views put to the umpires at that point, with us having a crowd in and a desire for us to put on a show, but ultimately the umpires are responsible for the safety of the players and if they believe the conditions are unfit, there really is no argument.”

“The umpires met with both captains and talked the situation through, but there was a difference in opinion.”

With just over a month of the season still to play, much talk centres around certain players futures with some changes expected in the Kent playing staff this winter, but Clifford wouldn’t be drawn on who was staying and who would be leaving the club:

“I’m not one to give a running commentary on contract negotiations with players. I believe that is an issue between the club and an individual player.”

“At such time that we conclude various negotiations, we will make suitable announcements.”

Tickets are available for Canterbury week via the club’s official website – www.kentcricket.co.uk but if you can’t get to the game, KSN will be providing live updates from the ground this week on our Twitter feed – @ksncricket