Kent head coach Matt Walker warns players they can't afford many bad sessions if they are to be successful this summer

Head coach Matt Walker is warning Kent's players they can’t afford many bad sessions if they want to be successful this summer.

Walker’s words followed Kent’s 10-wicket defeat to Lancashire in Division 1 of the County Championship on Sunday.

Too many wickets fell in clusters - most notably the evening session on day three which saw Kent staring defeat in the face as they slumped from 45-2 to 72-6.

The heroic batting of Ben Compton, helped by the unlikely resistance of Hamidullah Qadri, nearly saw Kent hold out for a draw on the final day after Matt Milnes had been dismissed at the start of day four.

But the damage was done the previous evening, and Walker knows they need to avoid such dips in matches, starting with the visit of Hampshire to Canterbury from today.

“It’s a hard slog and, if you want to win games, you have got to play really well pretty much all the game,” said Walker.

“You have got to make sure you don’t have a really bad session because that will cost you the game against good sides.

“We know what their threat will be. Hampshire are a good side, but I will be saying this every week to you whoever we are coming up against. It’s not just a line - it’s true.

“All these sides have good players but we have, too.

"That’s important for us to remember as well. Let’s remember how good we are.

“When we play our best cricket, we are a match for anybody.

“We have to go full steam ahead, thinking we can win that game. Hampshire will be the same.

“This is the great thing about this division, that’s why it’s so exciting.

“There’s so many good sides that I don’t think there will be a runaway (winner). There may well be, but I predict there probably won’t be.

“Sides will beat each other week-in, week-out, so you have to