Beyond the Boundary: Kent star Darren Stevens writes exclusively for the KM Group
08:00, 18 June 2010
We've seen some great batting performances in the past week, but unfortunately not all of them by our players.
When we got to Gloucester on Sunday we went out and saw the ground was the size of a postage stamp. The lads were getting giddy. We decided 200 would be the par score and we got excited, working out how to hit it over the top, confidence was flying.
We got off to a good start through Keysie and Joe Denly and every time we’ve got off to a good start we have gone on to get a big total. It takes the pressure off the rest of the order so we can play some shots.
I missed out, only getting two, but if we keep winning even if I’m not playing well, I’ll take that.
A couple of days earlier we were done by one player. Adam Gilchrist showed just how smart he is, almost all his runs came from the same end. We didn’t bowl as well as we’d like but he was incredible that night.
It was a shame there weren’t many people there to see it. Tunbridge Wells earlier in the week was packed – just how Twenty20 should be.
The crowd at Canterbury was disappointing, I’ve not seen anything like that down here before. Maybe it was to do with the ticket prices. People have told me how expensive it is. I had four friends who came the other day and for a car and four people that was £110 just to get through the gates. By the time you’ve had a bit of food and some beers then you’re looking at £200 for a night.
Hopefully the fans will be out in force at Beckenham this week. It will be like a home game for Surrey on Wednesday so it’s important we have as many fans as possible there.
It is massively important that we establish ourselves in the group. We have been one of the strongest sides for the past few years so even though we have lost a couple of matches, people will still fear us.
Surrey are not in such great form, it is important that we get on a roll. We want to keep moving up the leaderboard and get as high as we can.
We have been there and done it before. We have beaten all these teams before, at home and away. We need to start a run.
It was a nice change to have some time off this week. I went to the gym a couple of times and played some golf. I play off a four handicap and really enjoy it. Infact I was asked to take part in a pro-am in Saint Omer, France, this week. I’ll let you know how I get on.
I’ve enjoyed watching the World Cup this week. I support my country whether it is cricket, football, rugby or whatever. I was cheering them on on Saturday and hopefully we’ll be able to watch the game on the big screen at The Brit Oval on Friday night.