Hollioake credits Kent players after promotion to Division One

Adam Hollioake has credited Kent's players with restoring the county to Division One after a recovery from the bottom of the County Championship's second tier. Speaking to BBC Radio Kent following promotion, the head coach said their response to a difficult start and ability to carry out plans had driven the improvement.

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Kent finished as runners-up to Durham and will return to the top flight in 2027. Hollioake took over after relegation in 2024, but his first season produced only two wins in 14 Championship matches. This year's opening three games brought two draws and an innings defeat against Worcestershire before eight victories in the remaining 11 matches.

The campaign ended with an eight-wicket victory over Gloucestershire at Canterbury on Saturday. According to the ECB Reporters' Network match report published by BBC Sport, promotion was already assured before Kent began their final innings, because Northamptonshire had lost to Middlesex at Lord's. News of that result prompted applause around the ground while Gloucestershire were still batting.

Matt Milnes took five wickets for 33 in Gloucestershire's second innings, which ended at 241 and left Kent needing 118. Kamran Dhariwal made 66 and Matt Taylor contributed 34. Milnes had also taken four for 55 in the visitors' first innings of 229, while Ben Compton's 126 helped Kent reach 353 in reply.

Kent completed the chase on 120 for two, with Sam Northeast unbeaten on 49 and Zak Crawley making 44. Compton was dismissed for four by JT Langridge, while Crawley fell to Sai Kishore. Northeast finished the match by striking Ollie Price for six and then two successive fours, securing the county's eighth Championship win of the season.

Hollioake's attention now turns to sustaining the improvement in Division One. He told BBC Radio Kent that promotion should be enjoyed, but further progress remained necessary. Across the Championship season, Northeast led Kent's batting with 890 runs, while Milnes finished with 54 wickets and Keith Dudgeon took 42.