There is finally light at the end of the dark tunnel for Kent cricket fans to dream of a return to the game that they all love this summer – and Spitfires coach Matt Walker is no different…

Following Boris Johnson’s announcement of his roadmap, cricket authorities up and down the country are hoping that fans could be back in grounds this summer and that hope is growing at the Spitfire Ground – both on and off the square as the coach told us; he said, “Every time I speak to KSN, we’ve talking about hoping and fingers crossed, but I think that we’re getting there!”

“There’s a real caution around the side of the year and I suspect that it won’t be too dissimilar to last year in terms of the cautionary outlook we’ve got to face and the level of restrictions that we have to put in place, that we have a steady start to the year without any issues around COVID.”

“If we can do that and if there aren’t any cases flying around and if cricket works with everything that’s put in place and then as the country moves forward with the vaccine roll-out and restrictions being lifted gradually, then I’d like to think that come T20 season at least, we’ll be able to have some people coming through the doors.”

Reflecting on the difference that fans inside the ground make to the game and the players, Walker admitted, “I think that we need it; I think that the players need it and most importantly the fans need it – they want to watch live sport live.”

“It’s all very well being televised and it’s great to see sport on the box as it keeps people going when the sun’s shining and we’re playing cricket. It will be lovely to have people in the Spitfire Ground, so it is still a hope and it is really encouraging, and you’ve got to say it quietly as you don’t want to get too carried away, but things are progressing with the Prime Minister’s latest announcement.”

“There’s hope – and there’s more hope than ever that the crowds we’ve seen on TV in India at the Test matches and New Zealand in their T20 series with Australia – it really has made us all very envious – and we’re all now hoping that the scenes will soon be repeated in this country.”

“You forget what it’s like – you really do – the little cricket we played last year in a strange season with not having people in adds to that and the sooner we can get people back in the better!”