Kent captain Rob Key has welcomed the return of cricket to areas such as Beckenham and Tunbridge Wells in 2015.

The fixtures for the new season were unveiled a few weeks ago and one of the highlights will see Kent face Surrey and Gloucestershire in two Twenty 20 games at Beckenham with Rob Key’s side to take on Surrey in the County Championship at the same venue at the end of May.

With so much redevelopment work having been undertaken by Kent in Beckenham, including a new stand that will seat over 2,000 people, Key has spoken of his delight of seeing cricket return to that part of the county, just along the road from where he grew up:

“I think there is a massive opportunity for Kent to be in this part of the county. There’s a huge catchment area that includes London.”

“If you can include this part of the county, that can have a huge benefit to Kent in the long term.”

“Personally, it is very close to where I grew up and it’s fantastic place to come and play and is generally one of the best wickets in the country.”

The new indoor facility at Beckenham will also enable local cricketers to home their skills all year round and not have to travel and for Key that has to be a benefit for Kent Cricket in the long term:

“To be able to provide cricket all year round, I don’t think there is anything like this in this part of Kent.”

“We used to have to drive all the way down to Canterbury for a good surface to practice in the winter, but here at Beckenham you will have a good surface that is for multi-purpose use.”

“When you consider there are some big clubs up here like Bromley, Beckenham and Hayes, there is a good catchment and hopefully people will come and see a T20 game and then maybe move on to a Championship game.”

Moving around the county is a strategy Kent are looking to employ in the years to come with a large catchment of fans in which to draw from.

In 2015 the side will play at Canterbury, Beckenham and Tunbridge Wells, but in years gone past the likes of Maidstone and Folkestone have also featured on the schedule and for the Kent captain it makes sense to take cricket all across Kent:

“I think geographically we are one of the biggest counties and ultimately there was a time that Kent played less at Canterbury and went all around the county and that’s what brings people to it.”

“In this day and age, you need to bring things to people. They’re not necessarily going to travel as there are so many options and so many things that you are competing with, not just in sport.”

“Again going there, there’a another untapped area. I know we have had the Festival there for years and years and it is one of the best Festivals in county cricket.”

“It generally throws up some great cricket and hopefully being later we will get some better weather.”

Next summer will see cricket return to the Nevill Ground in Tunbridge Wells and they will be hosting Natwest T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup cricket in July along with a County Championship game against Essex, providing locals with six days of cricket to enjoy, just like Beckenham.

For that to happen, funding had to be secured to install a temporary stand, making the operation of the shorter forms of the game viable and that stand has been underwritten by local businessman Freddie Cook, a long-standing West Kent co-chairman of the Lord’s Taverners, the UK’s leading youth cricket and disability sports charity.

On the annoucement that cricket was to stay in Tunbridge Wells across the three formats, Mr Cook said: “I was saddened when the festival was retrenched last year and was determined to ensure that the Festival was maintained and in fact restored to its former glory.”

“For the good of cricket throughout West Kent, boys and girls participation, the work of cricket charities like the Taverners and the vibrancy of Tunbridge Wells, it is important we have a full cricket festival.”

Meanwhile Kent Cricket CEO Jamie Clifford welcomed the support from the local community: “We are very pleased to be bringing back a full cricketing programme for the 103rd Tunbridge Wells Cricket Festival, and are indebted to a very generous local supporter for making this possible.”

“My hope is that we can now use this continuity regarding 2015 as a springboard to secure the ground for many years to come.”

The real highlight of the 2015 calendar will see the touring Australian side come to Canterbury at the end of June for a four day match and for Rob Key, it’s a great chance for some of his younger players to show where they are and to see if they can beat one of the best sides in the game:

“It doesn’t really get any bigger in cricket than having the Australians at the start of as Ashes series. They will be looking to get firing and getting into the series.”

“The fact that we have the chance to play against the superstars of cricket is a rare opportunity and when I started you would have only faced these guys as overseas players, so for all of us it is a chance to see where we are at against some of the best bowlers in world cricket.”

“It’s a great opportunity for the people of Kent County Cricket Club are for people to come down and see what is one of the best sides in the world.”