Batsman Mike Powell sees his move to Kent from Glamorgan as the chance for a fresh start to his cricketing career.

The 35 year old will move to Canterbury for the forthcoming season after fifteen years with the Welsh outfit and will plug to hole left by Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld’s departures at the end of last season.

Powell has been the rock in the heart of the Glamorgan side for the past decade scoring over 11,000 first class runs in the process.

His experience in Kent’s middle order could be invaluable for Kent for the forthcoming season and Powell told KSN that the move to Canterbury was the right one for him:

“I came up to Kent on Sunday night and have trained on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday before heading back home on Wednesday night. I’ll do a bit of training down in Cardiff whilst I’m back home too.”

“It’s quite refreshing to be at Kent as my time at Glamorgan had come to an end. The club couldn’t have been more helpful and the boys have been brilliant.”

“It’ll be strange lining up against some good friends in the Glamorgan side having played with them for so many years, but I’ll be busting my gut to do my best for Kent.”

One influence for Powell making the decision to move to Kent was old friend Geraint Jones with the pair having played cricket and rugby together in Wales:

“Geraint and I go way back from our time in Abergavenny. We’ve always kept in contact over the years and he was the one who suggested there might be a chance of coming to Kent.”

“At the end of the day, it wasn’t just Geraint though that made me want to come to Kent. There are some great guys here like Rob Key, Darren Stevens and James Tredwell, along with all the talented youngsters coming through.”

Newly married, Powell will be living in Canterbury during the season and spending winters with his new wife Pippa down in Cardiff:

“Myself, Charlie Shreck and Ben Harmison have got three apartments on the ground, so we will be living there. My new wife knows that cricket comes first and I’ll be back in Cardiff as and when I can.”

The trio aren’t the only new faces to Kent cricket fans this summer with Head Coach Jimmy Adams having started in his new role a few weeks ago and Powell told KSN how he and Jimmy were already enjoying a great relationship:

“Jimmy is the coolest man I have ever met. He likes to get involved, especially when it comes to running, but isn’t so keen on the lifting as he’s got no upper body strength!”

“He can just about pick up a cup of tea! In all seriousness, he is great guy and is a real positive influence to have around.”

Where Powell fits into the Kent side will be open to much debate by fans, with the number four slot the most likely position in the side, but the Welshman told KSN how nothing had been decided as yet:

“We’ve only been working on running up the only hill in Canterbury so far. It’s all about getting our disciplines back in cricket and we’ll no doubt sit down nearer the start of the season when everyone is back to decide the roles we’ll have in the team.”

“I know some batsmen set targets for getting a thousand runs in the season, but for me it’s about getting as many runs as I can for Kent.”

In a few weeks time, Powell and the rest of the Kent squad head to Antigua for a ten day training camp. One issue for Powell though could be the weather:

“For me a trip to Antigua isn’t so good for my coloured skin. I think there will be plenty of factor forty in use! It’ll be nice to get guaranteed cricket with the weather being better and I believe the facilities are excellent.”

Like a lot of Welsh men, Powell is a huge rugby fan and will be one of many making the pilgrimage to Twickenham this weekend as Wales face England:

“It’s all about Saturday for me and the world will stop about 2 o’clock when I’m at Twickenham.”

“Wales have got a great chance to win this one. They are playing with lots of confidence, so I think it will be a good game with lots of attacking rugby, but hopefully Wales win.”

Kent have landed on their feet signing Powell. Not only is he a proven batsman, he will be the kind of character needed in the dressing room to help Adams and co achieve their goals.