Kent County Cricket Club in 2018
In 2018, Kent County Cricket Club competed in Division Two of the County Championship, the Royal London One-Day Cup and the 2018 t20 Blast. The county finished second in Division Two of the Championship and were promoted to Division One for the 2019 season. They reached the final of the One-Day Cup. losing to Hampshire at Lord's, and the quarter-final stage of the t20 Blast. In addition, before the start of the English cricket season, Kent competed in the 2017–18 Regional Super50, the List A competition of the West Indies domestic season, reaching the semi-final stage. This was the second time that Kent have competed in the competition, having played in the 2016–17 competition.
| 2018 season | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Coach | Matthew Walker | ||
| Captain | Sam Billings | ||
| Overseas players | Matt Henry (Championship and One Day Cup) Adam Milne (July–August, T20 only) Carlos Brathwaite (July, T20 only) Marcus Stoinis (July–August, T20 only) | ||
| Ground(s) | St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury Nevill Ground, Tunbridge Wells County Ground, Beckenham | ||
| County Championship | Division two runners-up (promoted) | ||
| Royal London One-Day Cup | Runners-up | ||
| Vitality Blast | Quarter-finals | ||
| Regional Super50 | Semi-finals | ||
| Most runs | FC: JL Denly (954) LA: DJ Bell-Drummond (795) T20: JL Denly (409) | ||
| Most wickets | FC: MJ Henry (75) LA: JL Denly (24) T20: JL Denly (20) | ||
| Most catches | FC: SR Dickson (25) LA: AJ Blake (10) T20: SR Dickson (10) | ||
| Most wicket-keeping dismissals | FC: AP Rouse (26) LA: AP Rouse (14) T20: SW Billings (13) | ||
| |||
The season was the second in charge for head coach, and former player, Matthew Walker and saw the arrival of new assistant coach, former South African fast-bowler Allan Donald. Donald had been expected to join the county at the start of the 2017 season but was denied a work permit as he did not, at the time, hold a suitable coaching qualification. Former Kent and England wicket-keeper Paul Downton was appointed as Director of Cricket in January. Downton, who played for Kent between 1977 and 1979, was the managing director of the England and Wales Cricket Board from February 2014 until April 2015.
Sam Billings was the club captain for the first time, having replaced Sam Northeast in January 2018. Behind the scenes, chief executive Jamie Clifford departed the club in February 2018 to take up a position at MCC whilst the chairman of the Cricket Committee, former player Graham Johnson, did not seek re-election. Clifford's interim replacement, Ben Green, had previously worked at the ECB, Surrey and at the All England Club at Wimbledon. In November Simon Storey, who had been Chief Executive of Derbyshire County Cricket Club since 2012, was recruited in the role on a permanent basis, with Green initially taking on the role of Chief Operating Officer before leaving the club the following month.
At the end of the season Joe Denly was voted Players' Player of the Year at the Professional Cricketers' Association awards, beating teammate Matt Henry and Surrey batsman Rory Burns. He was also named Vitality Blast Player of the Year player of the year and Royal London One-Day Cup Player of the Year, as well as being included in the Team of the Year.