Darren Stevens was instrumental in taking Kent to the final with 84 not eliminated in the semi-final against Hampshire; watch the 46-year-old in action as Kent take on Lancashire in Saturday’s Royal London Cup Final at Trent Bridge live on Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am.
Darren Stevens could be set to make his last appearance for Kent
Darren Stevens could make his last appearance for Kent when they take on Lancashire in the Royal London Cup final at Trent Bridge on Saturday as he prepares to leave the club after 17 years.
The 46-year-old has helped fuel Kent’s run to the final having produced 49 against Lancashire in a vital group game, followed by 41 against Leicestershire in the playoffs and 84 without 65 balls in the semi-final win over Hampshire.
Having not played in the county championship since May, Stevens is unsure if he will feature in the final two games of the Kent campaign.
“It’s going to be emotional,” Stevens told Espncricinfo. “We’ve had too much time to think this week. I’ve been talking about it a lot and I’ve been thinking about it more than I would.”
“I’ll be a little nervous, but when you cross the rope, you’ll go back to your work and I’ll have a clear mind about what I’m doing, hitting or throwing. It’s hard to explain. It could be my last game for Kent, it could be my last professional game. .
“Somebody asked me a while ago about getting out of Kent in a four-day game for the last time. Well, I think I already have.
“But it was like, ‘let’s say it was the last game of the season, what would that look like?’ And I said, ‘You can’t ask me that question because I can’t answer it.’ I don’t want it to stop, but it might be taken off my hands.”
Stevens was due to leave Kent in 2019 when he was not offered a new contract at the club, only for phenomenal form that included hitting 88 and a 10-wicket haul against Nottinghamshire in the County Championship followed by a best-of-class first 237 against Yorkshire to earn him a new one-year deal.
The veteran all-rounder has repeatedly expressed an interest in taking on a managerial role at Canterbury, although it appears Kent has chosen not to accept the offer for now.
“I don’t want to fight anymore,” Stevens said of his departure. “I feel like for the last five years I’ve been fighting for a contract where three of those five years I got Player of the Year, so I don’t know how that really works.
“It was heartbreaking and really disappointing and it still hurts because I feel like I still have a lot to give for Kent cricket, on and off the pitch. But unfortunately the decision was made by the hierarchy.”
“I’d like to think I still have the fight in me to produce a couple hundred and a couple five-for-fives, but unfortunately I didn’t get picked in all four days. That’s also disappointing.” so I can’t really fight. So yeah, it hurts. Hurts”.
Ollie Robinson has led Kent at the bat with 419 runs at a 127.20 strike rate in competition, including an unbeaten 206 in the opener against Glamorgan, while Ben Compton has racked up 380 runs at 42.22 at the top of the order. . Nonetheless, Stevens still has a team-high 132.21 batting average after his instrumental role in Kent’s five-match winning streak to reach the final.
On the ball, Hamid Qadri has served as Kent’s leading wicket-taker with 14 to his name alongside closer Nathan Gilchrist’s 11.
Lancashire reached the final thanks to victory over Sussex after a Dane Vilas century, following a 115 stroke courtesy of Steven Croft in the quarter-final victory over Nottingham.
Luke Wells is the team’s leading scorer in the tournament with 339 runs at an average of 37.66, closely followed by starter Keaton Jennings on 318 at 45.42. Sailors Liam Hurt and Danny Lamb each have 13 wickets.
