Milnes reveals turning point of Kent’s promotion-winning term!

Seam bowler Matt Milnes praised Kent head coach Adam Hollioake’s approach in their promotion-winning season.

Kent will return to the top flight of the County Championship next summer after a remarkable turnaround in results.

Having finished bottom last summer, Kent failed to win any of their first three games. It was a run that culminated in an innings loss at Worcestershire in late April.

But rather than be overly critical, Hollioake tried to ease the pressure on his players in a move that proved a masterclass.

On the colourful 55-year-old Hollioake, who is a former boxer and MMA fighter, Milnes joked: “He’s just a big softy!

“He has been brilliant. The way he man-manages people, I think it’s really good.

“That Worcestershire game where we didn’t perform very well, he flipped it on its head and told us to enjoy it, and he just backed us.

“That was probably the turning point of the season - a lot of credit has to go to him.”

Hollioake worked closely with Kent’s ground staff to deliver wickets that helped bring the best out of Milnes.

In his first campaign back at Canterbury, 32-year-old Milnes took 54 red-ball wickets at an average of 20.03.

“They’ve been good cricket wickets,” said Milnes. “The pitch (used for Kent’s final match, an eight-wicket win over Gloucestershire) did quite a bit for the first day-and-a-bit and started to flatten out and, maybe, spun at the end.

“To me, that’s great. I think they’ve just been good cricket wickets.

“There has been a bit of extra grass on them, which has kept the pace in. People probably look at it and think it’s a bit of a snake pit but, barring the first session, it’s been quite a level playing field.

“You get value for your shots as a batter and, if you bowl well and smash away in a good area for long periods of time, you get some rewards.”

Milnes’ efforts were supported in the bowling attack by South African all-rounder Keith Dudgeon - who will reunite with former Kent head coach Matt Walker at Sussex next term - and fellow overseas players, Hasan Mahmud and Khaled Ahmed.

The Bangladesh duo each played a part as Kent concluded the campaign with a fantastic eight wins in their last 11 games.

On Mahmud and Ahmed, Milnes said: “They’ve been great when they played.

“They contributed to multiple match-winning performances. Naturally as a bowling group, you communicate through the games and talk about what is working and what we need to do to, maybe, be a bit better at times.

“I think they bought into it, as well, which has been great.”

Another to impress for Kent, scoring more than 350 red-ball runs in 2026 and claiming 18 wickets, was talented all-rounder Ekansh Singh.

Milnes admits Singh, who will only turn 21 in July, is already showing real promise. He has since been called-up into England Lions’ team for next month’s T20 and 50-over tour of the Caribbean.

“He is, obviously, a very talented young cricketer,” said Milnes.

“There aren’t many people that can bat in your top six or seven and bowl decent wheels so he’s in a very exclusive club in the country.

“I think that will, hopefully, hold him in good stead. He has so much to learn but, at the moment, he’s still a touch raw with his bowling.

"He’s already a serious batter.”