AUSTRALIAN Test skipper Steve Waugh is helping Kent County Cricket Club forge stronger links with his Sydney-based state side, New South Wales.

The tie-up between St Lawrence and the Sydney Cricket Ground started with Waugh’s brief stint as Kent’s stand-in overseas professional last season.

And the bond will be further strengthened with the arrival this week of former NSW captain, turned coach, Trevor Bayliss.

Bayliss, 41, comes to Canterbury for a six-week stint to assist Kent’s Australian director of coaching Ian Brayshaw and newly appointed academy director Simon Willis.

As specialist tutor in batting and fielding skills, his work should compliment that of Brayshaw and Willis, who specialise in bowling and wicketkeeping respectively.

“The idea of having a twin or sister club came up last season when Paul Millman, Dave Fulton, Steve Waugh and I sat down to chat about improving things here,” said Brayshaw ahead of this week’s Kent training camp at Buckmore Park, near Chatham.

“Steve said that he knew a guy at NSW who was coming up with some great fielding drills and because we saw that as an area where we wanted to strengthen we obviously sat up and took note.

“We then started talking with Dave Gilbert, who runs NSW, and he was just as enthusiastic about all the potential benefits of a link between the two clubs, not just in playing terms, but also potential benefits for website links and merchandising.

“We’ve even talked about an exchange plan between groundsmen, there are many areas where both clubs could gain.”

Bayliss played 58 first-class matches for NSW between 1985 and 1993, becoming the state’s player-of-the-season in 1989-90, when he averaged 55. He went on to skipper the club the following season.

Overall, he scored 3,000 runs in Sheffield Shield cricket at an average of 35.58 and took eight wickets with his occasional off-spinners.

After his playing retirement he remained with the state as cricket development officer for the NSW Cricket Association and has risen through the ranks to become assistant coach behind Steve Rixon.

As a reciprocal part of the deal, Willis is planning to work at the SCG for six weeks come the end of the English domestic season.

In the meantime, Kent have begun their search to find a replacement for Queensland all-rounder Andrew Symonds following his selection for Australia A.

The Aussie second-string side welcome South Africa A for separate limited overs and three-day series starting on April 4, ensuring 27-year-old Symonds will miss the opening seven weeks of Kent’s season.

“Obviously other counties like Middlesex and Durham will be affected as well as ourselves, so phone lines between England and Australia may get quite hot this week,” added Brayshaw