Kent head coach Matt Walker urges his players to do things their own way in the 2023 summer

Head coach Matt Walker has urged Kent’s troops to do things their own way.

There’s been plenty of talk ahead of the 2023 summer about how England’s new aggressive “Bazball” style under head coach Brendon McCullum and skipper Ben Stokes will impact how counties approach matches.

While Walker admits it’s a conversation he’s heard around Kent’s players - having seen his side claim two trophies in as many years - he’s also keen to ensure his players don’t go away from what they know best, too, ahead of their County Championship opening Division 1 game at home to Northamptonshire in Canterbury, which starts today.

He said: “It’s definitely been a conversation you hear around the group.

“They’re, obviously, very aware of what they’re watching. I think it’s incredibly exciting, the players are watching and being inspired by what the England players are doing.

“For us, though, I think it’s very important to concentrate on what we do very well.

"It’ll be very interesting to see how this summer pans out.

“But from our point of view, we have got a very talented bunch of players - who all bring a different set of skills - and it’s applying them when needed.

“At times, we need to be more aggressive with our batting. We already had spoken about that at the end of last season.

“There were periods where we were a little bit too circumspect when we were in control of games and played it a bit safe.

"But the message from us is to 'Play your game, be brave and express yourself when the time is right'.

“If people play the way they practice and play to their gameplan, then there will be no come back from us.”

Walker also feels the fact surfaces they sometimes play on in the county game aren’t as good as what’s played on during Test matches