Chief Executive Jamie Clifford is looking forward to seeing a largely homegrown Kent squad take to the field in the upcoming season.

This past winter has seen both Joe Denly and Matt Coles make a return to the club where they made their names, with the pair set to add strength and experience to a Kent squad that will most likely go without an overseas signing this summer.

Both Denly and Coles are certainly no strangers to the Kent system with the pair both having come through the Academy system and will slot straight back in under Rob Key with the pair close friends of the Kent skipper.

With more emphases on giving locally nurtured talent a chance this season, Chief Executive Jamie Clifford is delighted the squad boasts so many players having learnt their trade within the county:

“I’m delighted both of them are back and we didn’t ever want either of them to leave. We would never want a player to stay against their will and when it was time for them to move on we accepted it and moved on, but to welcome them back is excellent.”

“I think there is a lot to be said about fielding a side that represents its local area. We are a big cricketing county and we should be able produce talent. 14 out of our 23 players have come through our own system and a further five haven’t played county cricket for any other county and have been picked up through trials and that sort of thing.”

“I think that is something to be very proud of and I think actually it is a much more sustainable model. Developing a player can take many, many years, but I think we have got a youth system in place that is starting to prove its worth.”

“Like anything, it takes time to deliver results and when I think to my own involvement with the Community game, we are now starting to see players emerge that got involved ten or eleven years ago.”

“It’s a long term game, but we are backing these guys to go beyond just being a professional cricketer and they should be pushing for international honours.”

One player that Kent already have earning international honours is spinner and former captain James Tredwell.

Having recently returned from World Cup duty with England, Clifford feels Tredwell should have been given more of a go by the selectors, but is pleased that he has been called up for the Test squad that travels to the West Indies for three Test matches:

“He’s certainly had a trying winter and he worked incredibly hard before he went off to the World Cup, but then he’s always worked very hard. I observed the extra effort he was putting in to make sure he had a successful World Cup, so it was desperately disappointing that he only got to play in that final game.”

“I hope he gets out to the West Indies, forces himself into the reckoning for the First Test and then puts in a good account of himself.”

“Who knows where we might be in terms of his career with a series against New Zealand and Australia to come this summer. It could be a really exciting time for him and he can do no more than he’s done.”

Two other Kent players pushing for international recognition soon are wicketkeeper Sam Billings and spinner Adam Riley with the pair having been part of the England Lions squad that toured South Africa and this week are out in Dubai playing for the MCC.

Both have been tipped for future England careers and Clifford believes the Kent pair have every chance of making it:

“I hope so and others too. I think one or two weren’t that far away from Lions recognition too in the winter and what we really want to get to is a situation where Kent as a county and Kent as a cricketing community is producing cricketers of the highest possible calibre and I think we have started to see players that have put themselves in the frame already and I think there will be more to come.”

“We have got talent in our ranks that could certainly go on to international honours and we’d all like to see that sooner rather than later.”

Ryan Davies and Hugh Bernard typify the depth in talent starting to come through the Academy system managed by Simon Willis with the Kent pair joining up with the England Under 19 squad as they head to Australia.

With so many young Kent stars going on to earn England recognition, Clifford believes the county is right to keep investing in homegrown talent:

“That’s what you want to see, you want to see players at every level, whether it be the Under 19s or regional squads, we want to see Kent players representing their country.”

“We don’t want to see it just for a numbers perspective. If players are on those tours to just make up the numbers, that’s not ideal. We have seen with players like Daniel Bell-Drummond that they can go on and shine with the England Under 19s.”

“Guys like Ryan (Davies) have every chance to start their careers and show what they are capable of and who knows where it will take them.”

Check out Kent Sports News on Wednesday as Clifford delivers his verdict on the calls for county cricket to adopt a franchise based system like the Big Bash in Australia.