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Darren Stevens wins Kent Cricket player of the year for third successive season
10:42, 02 October 2021
updated: 12:54, 06 October 2021
Darren Stevens has been voted Kent's player of the year by the club's supporters for the third successive year.
It glossed what had been another incredible season for the veteran all-rounder, now 45, who helped the county win the T20 Blast competition and Division 3 of the County Championship in 2021.
He struck more than 800 runs during his 2021 campaign across all formats, including three centuries, and took 52 wickets.
Stevens was left out of Kent's T20 Blast quarter-final clash with Birmingham Bears but returned on finals day at Edgbaston as he struck a crucial 47 not out in their semi-final success over Sussex Sharks and took a wicket in both the semi-final and the final with the ball.
In June, he signed a one-year contract extension which will keep him at Canterbury into 2022 as he eyes more success.
Jordan Cox claimed two gongs, winning 'Young Player of the Year' and 'Men’s Fielder of the Year' at the end-of-season awards night at The Spitfire Ground on Friday evening.
Cox, 20, took 21 outfield catches in 30 matches, including a remarkable individual effort against Birmingham Bears in the T20 Blast final, as well as being a part of one of the best fielding efforts in recent Kent history – a relay catch with Matt Milnes.
Seam bowler Milnes, who received his county cap in September, also won two awards.
He was named both 'Players’ Player of the Year' and 'Bowler of the Year' after he took 62 wickets in 29 matches across all formats this year at 20.30.
Fast bowler Nathan Gilchrist was named Kent's 'Emerging Player of the Year'.
The 21-year-old took 30 County Championship wickets at an average of 20.66.
Daniel Bell-Drummond was crowned 'Spitfire One-Day Player of the Season' for the second year in a row, as he averaged 37.84 with the bat and recorded six 50-plus scores.
Jack Leaning, who also earned his county cap this summer, won 'Batter of the Year' for 2021 as he scored 1,196 runs for Kent across all formats this year.
Kent Spitfires' T20 Blast win, their first success in the competition for 14 years, won 'Moment of the Year' for the men's team.
In the women's awards, off-spinner Kalea Moore earned top prize of 'Club Player of the Year'.
She was a part of the Kent Women squad that won both the Women’s London Championship 50-over competition and Vitality Women’s County T20 South Group, taking 13 wickets at an average of 20.23.
Women’s Fielder of the Year went to 17-year-old Ryana MacDonald-Gay.
'Emerging Player of the Year', 'Moment of the Year' and 'Young Player of the Year' were awarded to Kent Women for the first time this year.
Jemima Spence, 14, picked up the 'Emerging Player' award after she made 66 on her Kent Women debut when opening the batting.
Women’s Young Player of the Year was awarded to Alexa Stonehouse, 17, who took a wicket in Kent Women’s ‘Battle of the Bridge’ T20 against Essex at The Spitfire Ground.
Both 'Moment of the Year' and 'Players’ Player of the Year' were awarded to Grace Scrivens, whose impressive 94 not out in a T20 against Surrey Women was recognised as the stand-out moment from Kent Women in 2021.
Women’s Batter of the Year was Alice Davison-Richards, who averaged 59.33 for the Horses this season, while England left-arm spinner Kirstie Gordon’s nine wickets in five matches at just 12.33 earned her 'Bowler of the Year'.
Appreciation to the players that represented the county in three matches after a Covid-19 outbreak hit the first-team squad in July was also shown, while Lorne Hart was handed a memento as he passed 300 games as Kent men's first-team scorer.
