Kent batsman Heino Kuhn is looking forward to getting the new season underway after being confirmed as an overseas signing for the new campaign.

Kent’s season begins in less than one month’s time with the county’s trip to Northamptonshire beginning Thursday 8th April.

Kuhn will once again grace Canterbury having changed his status from Kolpak to overseas signing and is looking forward to being back with the lads, but admitted the past few months haven’t been so much of a challenge.

“To be honest, I haven’t really had ‘a Winter’ unlike some of the guys. I’ve had a very hot and humid Summer back in South Africa, and I can’t complain really!

“I’ve spent a lot of time with the family and had some time to relax in a place called Mossel Bay, near Cape Town. I’ve been very fortunate to be here and we’re all happy at the moment.”

But whilst Heino’s location sounds idyllic for all of us back in the UK, he is quick to talk about how he has been keeping sharp mentally and physically ahead of the start of the season.

“I’ve been fortunate enough to have had a lot of fitness trainers help me over my career so far, and they’ve all taught me ways of keeping myself fit, even when they’re not here.

“I’ve taken a lot on board from them, and I’ve kept myself strong, with a lot of bodyweight stuff that I can just do at home with resistance bands. I’ve been doing a lot of running on the beach, too.

“I’ve been doing all that to keep myself fit and strong for the season to come.”

And even though he is thousands of miles away in the Southern Hemisphere, the right hander still feels very much a part of the close-knit squad back in Canterbury.

“There’s so many ways for us to keep in touch with each other now, with a lot of online meetings to keep us up to speed with what’s happening at the Club, so it’s definitely been easy to keep a ‘togetherness’ as a team.

“We’ve all kept in touch and I think everyone’s been very good with it.”

The 36-year-old will count as an overseas player for the Club this year out of three available slots for the county, and Heino is relishing the chance to represent Kent in three formats once more.

“I’m looking forward to the Royal London Cup! I love playing one-day cricket, so I was gutted that we couldn’t play in it last year.

“Hopefully this year we can have a good tournament and personally I want to do well for Kent again in that format.”

And after the revelation that Kent Women star Sarah Bryce had started playing the ukulele, Heino’s Winter unfortunately hasn’t been as musical.

“I can promise you that I can’t play any instruments yet, especially something like the ukulele!

“I’ve just been focusing on being ‘a Dad’ if you can call that a hobby – making noises and different voices for the little one to keep her calm and happy is definitely my hobby, and a fun one to have!”

Picture supplied by Max Flego Photography.