Kent’s pre-season plans move on at pace with new Head Coach Jimmy Adams set to join up with the squad in the coming days.

Adams is expected to arrive in the country on Tuesday morning ahead of taking up his new position with Kent, whilst new signings Ben Harmison and Mike Powell are also expected to meet up with their new team-mates at Canterbury.

Prior to their arrival, the players and staff have been working hard to ensure that they are in tip-top condition with a series of fitness drills and have been honing their techniques.

Having spent the afternoon with the group at the indoor nets to get an understanding of what they do to prepare themselves, it is clear that they remain professional throughout the winter months and although they’re not playing competitive cricket at the moment, they remain focused on being ready for the first game of the season against Yorkshire on April 5th.

Under the watchful eye of Academy Director, Simon Willis, First team coach, Phil Relf and fitness trainer, Pete Kelly, the players went through a series of warm up drills which included a version of football/volleyball.

Designed to make training fun, Kelly explained the logic of mixing up their routines:

“The modern game is moving on at pace and we’ve had a good chat about trying to improve our fielding. To do that we need a series of fitness programmes that keep the guys on their toes, whilst making it fun.”

“The players give us good feedback on what they like and how much we can push them with certain things. I’ve been in touch with Jimmy via e-mail and have given him the programme for February and he’s happy with everything we are doing.”

The New Zealander has been instrumental in providing Kent’s cricketers with a variety of training exercises which include a bit of boxing and trips to Club Alpine in Canterbury.

With snow now on the ground, pre-season work has to take place indoors, but a planned trip to Antigua in March could be just the tonic:

“I think it will be a great trip for the boys as they need to get outside, particularly the bowlers to give them some time out in the middle.”

“It will be a great training time for the whole squad with a nice bit of running through some sand and up some hills.”

“Even if we have snow on the ground here, I still push the boys to get out there and do it.”

One thing that has definitely changed within cricket in the past five years is the use of technology. During their indoor session, under the watchful eye of skipper Rob Key, the players were filmed using an i-pad to show them what they were doing well and what they can do better.

A new innovation being used for the improvement of players’ games can only be a good thing and Willis acknowledged the use of talc on mats to replicate a wet outfield might raise a few eyebrows, but was all about giving players the best chance possible when it came to playing for real:

“When it comes to diving technique, it allows you to slide better and when you are working indoors you have to come up with solutions that could help us work on some issues and the talc seems to help us make that work.”

After spending time perfecting their catching techniques, it was time to strap their pads on and get into the nets for a bit of batting practice.

James Tredwell spent some time working on his action with Sam Northeast and Geraint Jones put through their paces at the other end. Having watched them for some time, it was clear that they could play a game tomorrow.

Meanwhile, Fabian Cowdrey was living up to the family name by showing he knew how to handle a piece of willow as he faced Merlin, the bowling machine, ably loaded by Key.

The only thing that was missing was Adams, but that is set to be resolved now he has his visa and begins his initial two year stint with Kent, something Simon Willis believes will give the players a renewed enthusiasm for the game:

“Everyone is looking forward to Jimmy’s arrival on Tuesday. To be fair to the lads, they have done everything they can in the off season with regards to effort.”

“They have been doing seven fitness sessions a week before Christmas and after they have been working on their cricket and have been giving it 100%.”

“Without a doubt though, Jimmy’s arrival will give everyone a real lift and having known him for twenty years now, I know how much of a good man he is and how much he will help the players.”

Willis is also an advocate of using technology to improve players’ techniques and insists it can only be a good thing:

“It’s powerful with cameras and phones all being geared up to show players something straight away. We’ve got the tools at our disposal, but it’s important that you use them at the right times.”

“You can have too much information at times and that can cloud the mind, but used in the right way can be very powerful.”

Being winter, most of the playing squad is far flung across the world with Adam Ball and Daniel Bell-Drummond currently touring with England Under 19’s, Alex Blake and Chris Piesley in Australia, Matt Coles is with the England Lions squad in Dubai, Sam Billings and Adam Riley are at university.

Meanwhile, Darren Stevens will shortly be joined by Azhar Mahmood in Dhaka for the Bangladesh Premier League.

However, they will all join up with new signings Ben Harmison, Mike Powell and Charlie Shreck for the trip to Antigua.

The four coaching staff travelling with the party will be Jimmy Adams, Phil Relf, Pete Kelly and physio Nimmo Reid.

The only player that will certainly miss the pre-season training trip is wicket-keeper Geraint Jones who will be with Papua New Guinea as they look to secure a place in the Twenty 20 World Cup.