Kent head coach Matt Walker praises Haydn Denly after match-saving innings on first-class debut against Essex

Kent head coach Matt Walker led the praise for teenage debutant Jaydn Denly after their County Championship draw at Essex on Monday.

Coming in on the back of a golden duck in the first innings, and with his team on the brink of defeat at 65-5, Denly put on a half-century partnership with Uncle Joe.

He went on to bat for nearly two hours, guiding Kent to relatively safe waters with a defiant 41 not out from 128 balls.

“Someone said it in the dressing room, that would have been a fantastic innings in your 100th game, let alone your first,” enthused Walker.

“I kept hearing a lot about Jaydn from a number of people, who have seen him and worked with him, that one of his great attributes is his temperament, not much rattles him.

“He’s pretty unfazed by most things and is pretty laid back. He dealt with one of the best attacks in the country in a way that seemed like he had been around for a long time.

“Bearing in mind he got nought in the first innings. I’m sure the butterflies would have been swirling around in his stomach in that situation but you wouldn’t have known it.

“He would have learnt an absolute fortune in that two hours of batting and that’s the education you get when you play in the first team. You can’t get it anywhere else.

“We’re really proud of him, to see a young Academy kid come off the blocks in his first season as a pro. The plan wasn’t really for him to be playing first-team cricket this year, it was an opportunity for him to grow and learn his game in the second team but, as can happen, opportunities arise.

“He’s got an old head on young shoulders and there was a lot of his uncle in that innings, (playing) under pressure. The wealth of learning he would have got from that innings will give him a lot of