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Chairman Simon Philip admits it’s disappointing to see Kent fans engaging in “ad hominem attacks” on social media.
Philip has spoken about the issue in his report on the club’s 2022 financial results, set to be presented to members.
“Something that seems to have been an unfortunate side effect of the pandemic is the coarsening of debate on social media,” he said.
“It has been very saddening to see some members engaging in ad hominem attacks on social media.
“While we all have views on the team’s performance, publicly directing insulting remarks at our people who have families and friends, questioning their competence, calling for their summary dismissal (in breach of employment law) and imputing that they have malign intentions, is wholly unacceptable.
“If members are ‘ashamed’ of supporting the club or believe that we should be refunding all subscriptions if we lose a few games (some of the comments during the summer), I suggest being an ‘owner’ of this great club is probably not for them.”
Philip reminds supporters of the success Kent have had in the last five years - which includes winning the Royal London One-Day Cup last year, the T20 Blast in 2021 and being promotion to County Championship Division 1 in 2018.
He added: “These results are remarkably consistent for a county that labours at a huge disadvantage to those grounds that host international and Hundred cricket.
“They are testimony to the impact that Paul Downton [director of cricket], Matt Walker [head coach] and the rest of the cricket department have had on our performance. We will lose games, as it is an inevitability of professional sport.
“It will not be through a lack of competence and members should be reminded - when questioning on social media the skills and intentions of our hard-working professionals - that the group that made decisions in 2022 had played 247 international matches (red and white ball) and just under 3,000 domestic matches. Their body of experience on cricket matters is slightly more than that of their critics!
“Last year, sadly, I had to explain that those members who abuse, insult or disrespect our hard-working office staff will face expulsion from membership under the powers in the club’s constitution.
“Not only is this the right approach, but a requirement of employment law is that we provide a safe environment for our staff. This extends to social media, and we will not hesitate to react to harassment or abuse of anyone who is employed by, or volunteers for, the club.
“As a counterpoint, the regular members’ forums have been conducted with good humour and in a very cordial atmosphere and these will continue, as they provide a vital interface between the club and our members.”
Philip also supports Kent’s players - and coach Matt Walker - who were once again involved in last year’s Hundred competition as was batting coach Ryan ten Doeschate, who has since departed. He has now been replaced by ex-Worcestershire head coach Alex Gidman.
He feels any county which tried to prevent players competing in the competition “would see an exodus” of players.
In their absence, bowling coach Simon Cook led Kent to their 2022 One-Day Cup success.
“While the tournament has given a huge boost to the women’s game (we are delighted to have had nine Kent players drafted), as there has been only a single non-Covid season of the men’s tournament, the jury is out on the extent of its success due to a lack of data,” he explained.
“One matter that needs to be addressed is the involvement of our men’s players and coaches in The Hundred. Again, on social media, unsavoury words such as ‘mercenary’ and ‘traitor’ have been used to describe our people’s involvement, rather than playing or coaching in the One-Day Cup.
“To be clear, any club which tried to prohibit its players being drafted, thus truncating their earnings and opportunity to play in an elite tournament, would see an exodus that reduced it to the playing standard of a national county.
“On the subject of our coaches participating, this is something that we actively encourage.
“Matt Walker and Ryan ten Doeschate were both involved with our approval and full support in 2022. It is universally accepted that employees in any organisation benefit from continuing professional development (CPD).
“The opportunity to provide high-level, elite coaches with such experiences is very limited and so The Hundred is a prime opportunity to give our people the opportunity to work with world-class coaches and different high-quality players.
“It has also allowed our assistant coaches to lead a tournament campaign and there is no question that Simon Cook’s and our other coaches’ careers have benefited from the opportunities that they have been given.
“We will continue to encourage our coaches to take up both England secondments and opportunities in The Hundred, with the proviso being that we have adequate cover.”
Philip’s comments come as Kent posted a loss of £30,728 for the year ending October 31, 2022, having previously reported a profit for the first time in three years 12 months ago. The surplus then had stood at £383,435.
The AGM for members is due to be held at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury, from 7pm on Tuesday, March 28.
Kent received more than £44,000 in donations from members and supporters, although they earned £3,645,980 from the England and Wales Cricket Board - well down from the previous year's figure.
Meanwhile, against their primary financial performance measurement of EBITDA - earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation - the year shows a surplus of £399,395, compared to £968,021 in 2021.
Brian Havill, Kent's board lead on finance, said: “The financial year started in November 2021 when there was much uncertainty with regards to the pandemic and the impact it could have on the 2022 season.
“Fortunately, the impact was relatively small, and the team worked hard to rebuild our main sources of revenue, and this is reflected in our financial results.
“We look forward to 2023 with a reasonable expectation that the uncertainties of the past three years are now behind us.
“This said, our key risk is that of many organisations in the current environment.
“It will not be easy to grow income significantly. Yet, there are going to be pressures on maintaining expenditure levels given the cost-of-living crisis.”
