Kent Spitfires go into their final two Vitality Blast group games knowing that their place in the Quarter Finals is in their own hands and Matt Walker wants to finish these games on a high.

Victories over Sussex Sharks at a sold out Spitfire Ground St Lawrence on Friday night will mean Matt Walker’s side will travel to Taunton for their final game on Sunday within touching distance of a knockout place. 

From 2021 Champions to failing to qualify last summer, things looked bleak when the Spitfires lost five of their first six this year, but an incredible run of six straight wins has taken Walker’s side to the brink of qualification. 

We sat down with the Kent coach on Thursday after and he told us:

”For us to be in this position after the first four or six games, we couldn’t really have asked for any more. To get into this position after effectively propping up the table has been an extraordinary effort and was needed!” 

“To have some control of the situation going into the weekend is all we could ask for. Of course, we started hoping for a home quarter final, but after the start we had, we knew that we’d have to win all our games just to have a chance… and it still might come to that and be the case.”

“But we do know that if we win these two games, we should be in the Quarter Finals especially with Surrey’s last two games being against Somerset and Essex.” 

The Spitfire Ground is a complete sell out for Friday night’s visit of the Sharks – something that Walker and his players are so grateful for.

“Our supporters have been amazing all year,” the coach said. “It’s been brilliant backing especially when we didn’t have a good campaign last year.”

“The way they all turned up in the first game against Gloucester was amazing and it’s just carried on. Despite us losing the games early on, they’ve kept coming in – it’s been great to see and shows actually at the start we weren’t playing that badly – we just weren’t getting over the line.”

“Every game has been magnificently supported and the boys really appreciate it and have noticed it – there’s been a lot of talk in the dressing room about how many are there and the fact that Friday is sold out is fantastic.”

“It’s always brilliant when we get a full house at Canterbury – doesn’t happen very often – but when it does, it’s a great place to be and hopefully, we can give them something to cheer about!” 

“You need both parts of the team to function to achieve anything in T20. The batting has, as it always does, gets more of the press as it’s more eye catching, but the way that we’ve batted has grown and grown into each match.”

“You talk about momentum and confidence, and you can see players going out there and not doing anything special, but just trusting their own game – backing their own skills one hundred percent.”

“We’ve seen batsmen going out confident of their own games, confident of each other’s and running hard between the wickets. A few have stolen the headlines, but everyone has contributed even if it’s only a small part, and the bowlers have played their parts too.”

“In the game against Hampshire which started the revival, in the end it was a brilliant bowling performance as they looked like they’d gotten away from us.”

“Definitely in other games, we’ve kept sides well below the totals they wanted and the defence against Middlesex at Lord’s was great. At the moment both parts of the performances are working and hopefully that will continue.” 

“We know that we’ve got to raise the bar again, but I think that come Friday night and a full house at Canterbury that will be the motivation that everyone needs…” 

Picture supplied by Max Flego Photography.