Hollioake credits Kent players as promotion caps eight-win turnaround

Kent head coach Adam Hollioake has credited his players with turning a difficult start into promotion to Division One of the County Championship. Speaking to BBC Radio Kent after the season-ending victory over Gloucestershire, he said their ability to carry out plans and recover from setbacks had driven the improvement.

Kent will return to the top division in 2027 after two seasons in Division Two. BBC Sport reported that Hollioake took over following relegation in 2024, then finished bottom in his first campaign, with only two wins from 14 matches. This season also began unpromisingly, with two draws and an innings defeat against Worcestershire.

The response brought eight victories in the remaining 11 Championship games and second place behind Durham. Hollioake told the BBC that he and the players had questioned themselves early in the campaign. He described relief at securing promotion, while emphasising that the team must continue improving for the higher division.

Kent's official match report, supplied by the ECB Reporters Network, detailed how the final win unfolded at Canterbury. Ben Compton's first-innings 126 helped the hosts reach 353, a lead of 124. Matt Milnes then finished with five wickets for 33 in Gloucestershire's second innings, which ended at 241 despite Kamran Dhariwal's 66. That left Kent needing 117 to win.

Promotion was already confirmed before Kent began their chase, after Northamptonshire lost to Middlesex at Lord's. The club report said news of that result prompted applause around the ground while Gloucestershire were eight wickets down. Zak Crawley subsequently made 44 and Sam Northeast finished unbeaten on 49 as Kent reached 120 for two, completing an eight-wicket victory inside three days.

Northeast closed the match with a six and two fours from successive Ollie Price deliveries, sealing Kent's eighth Championship win of the campaign. The finish followed contributions from several parts of the side: Compton had provided the first-innings century, Milnes the second-innings wickets and Crawley an attacking start to the chase. With their promotion rivals already beaten, Kent still completed the final task themselves on the field.