Matt Parkinson’s time as a Kent Spitfire will now start next week as the England leg-spinner will come to the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence initially on loan for the counties defence of the renamed Metro Bank One Day Cup which begins.
The leg-spinner has signed a contract at Canterbury from next season onwards but will head South on loan initially for the fifty over competition which Kent won so gloriously at Trent Bridge last September.
Ironically last summer Joey Evison started his Kent career early last summer and played a vital part in winning the Trophy after being loaned to the county prior to his permanent move from Nottinghamshire this summer. Unlike Evison however the plan with Parkinson will “only” play in the One Day Cup this season ahead of his move.
The leg-spinner will leave Lancashire, where he has struggled for gametime over the past year. Parkinson will formally make the switch to Canterbury on a permanent basis in November.
Speaking at the time of his original signing, Parkinson told the national press, “The time is right for me to embrace a new challenge and environment. I’m proud of my record in the game so far and I believe my best years as a leg-spin bowler are ahead of me. I promise my new teammates and the Kent supporters that I will throw myself into this new challenge and I can’t wait to get down to Canterbury to get started.”
It seems now that because the Counties One Day Cup has been stretched to breaking point for a number of reasons, including the Hundred, contracts coming to an end and players leaving in recent weeks, the squad desperately needed strengthening and what better than a future Spitfire who’s already an international ODI bowler?
The counties defence of the trophy begins at Scarborough against Yorkshire next Tuesday – August 1.
Remaining fixtures are home to Leicestershire at Beckenham (August 6), away to Lancashire at Blackpool (August 9); away to Surrey (August 11); three home games against Middlesex (Beckenham – August 13) before two games at the Spitfire Ground against Nottinghamshire and Essex on August 17 and 20 respectively. The qualifying group finishes on the Isle of Wight against Hampshire on August 22.