Matt Parkinson is looking forward to resetting not just his cricketing career at Kent.

The 26-year-old England international has joined the county initially on loan during the One Day Cup ahead of a permanent three-year deal from next summer.

It was a case of now or never for the highly-rated leg-spinner who made his Test debut last summer against New Zealand at Lord’s.

“Reset is a good way of describing it,” explained Parkinson, who took a wicket with his first ball on Kent soil during Sunday’s heavy defeat to Leicestershire.

“I think it’s a reset in all walks of life really. It’s 290 miles from my house, a fresh start. I’m 26-years-old and if I didn’t do it now then I don’t think I would have done it. When I knew Kent were interested it was a no-brainer.

“I’ve always done well against Kent. They showed an interest in me and a warmth. There were some other teams on the table but I think Kent was the best fit.

“For me at the stage I am at, it’s like a full life reset. I want to get down to Canterbury, miles away from friends and family. I’m looking forward to basing myself in Kent and playing for Kent for the next three years, and hopefully much longer as well.

“At the start of the season, I identified Kent as one of the clubs that I would be interested in and then luckily when June the first came along, they showed some keen interest.

“I guess Kent was a nice one because I wanted them and they seemed to want me as well, which I think is quite rare when you’re moving clubs. My team had identified them as a great fit and they seemed to think I was a great fit so fingers crossed it works.”

It’s been a stop-start season for Parkinson. Last summer he took 33 County Championship wickets for Lancashire in 10 games. This year, he’s played once for his home county and then bowled just over 130 overs for Durham across five games in Division 2.

He’s fallen down the international pecking order so a change might be what’s needed to reignite his career. But, in truth, it’s more about opportunity and he should get that in Kent colours.

Parkinson has joined on loan for the One Day Cup but is hoping that can be extended to two of Kent’s last three County Championship games. One of them is against Lancashire so he won’t be allowed to feature in that one.

“I was pretty keen to get down here,” he added. “There was a bit of uncertainty around it, we weren’t sure if I would be able to come down to Kent for the One Day Cup, I was potentially staying at Durham. But the stars have aligned and Kent have taken me which shows a lot.

“They didn’t have to take me in the One Day Cup as it’s a tournament that a lot of clubs don’t prioritise but for them to say come down was great.

“It’s not really about me bowling overs, it’s about winning games for Kent. I want to win the One Day Cup and if not, then have a good run in it. The last three Championship games are massive, I’ve been following since May where they are in the table and that’s the main aim.

“Fingers crossed I can come back for the red ball as well after the One Day Cup finishes. I see myself now as a Kent player.

“It’s above my pay grade, those discussions. It’s up to Lancashire really as they hold the power, they were kind enough to let me go to Durham and fingers crossed I’m okay to play two games. I won’t be allowed to play against Lancs!

“It would be nice to get a run of games with Kent and to play some Championship cricket in September for Kent and have a good end to the season.

“This year I just want to play cricket, I feel like we’re in August and I’ve literally hardly played. For me, it’s just about trying to perform for Kent in whatever format that is. At the minute, it’s 50-over cricket and hopefully in September it’s red ball.”