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Ollie Robinson admits the opportunity to play regular first-team cricket was a defining factor in his decision to commit to Kent.
The wicketkeeper-batsman was rewarded for his rise to prominence with a new contract which keeps him at the club until the end of the 2021 campaign.
His bright form had been attracting interest from elsewhere, with Sussex one of the counties to enquire about the 20-year-old.
Robinson said: “It’s nice just to focus on cricket now rather than worrying about where I’m going to be playing next year.
“It’s nice to get a contract for the next two-and-a-half years, which I’m looking forward to.
“Everyone has been very supportive of me, I’ve had a lot of decision making to do. I’ve been speaking to the right people, the family around me, and came to the right decision.
“I always wanted to stay at Kent but it is nice to speak to other people, in any job you speak to people, you know your worth and your value. It’s just nice to get other people’s opinions and they might give me something that I take away to Kent and say ‘this is what they do here which I quite like, can we try and do something like that here?’
“It’s about getting the best possible deal for yourself.
“It was during the Glamorgan one-day game (in April), Paul Downton told me Sussex were interested.
“It’s a nice position to be in, obviously it’s nice to know you’re wanted by your home club but the fact that there was interest from elsewhere was nice as well, especially from somebody like (Sussex coach) Jason Gillespie who has won tournaments around the world.
“I just wanted the best deal possible really and to get the most opportunity and time to play first-team cricket.
“That’s all I wanted really, just first-team cricket. The opportunity was the biggest thing.”
Besides hitting 463 first-class runs and a best of 143 so far this season, Robinson has fared impressively with the gloves in the absence of injured skipper Sam Billings.
It remains to be seen who will be handed the responsibility behind the stumps upon Billings’ return, nevertheless Robinson believes he has shown enough to be of value purely as a batsman if necessary.
He added: “We spoke about it (during contract negotiations), he (Billings) is still a couple of months away from being fit again but if he was to come back I don’t know what would happen. Obviously he’s a world-class keeper but I feel like I’ve done enough to play as a batter, which I did last year.
“I want to keep but I just want to play first-team cricket as well.”
Kent head coach Matt Walker underlined Robinson’s temperament at the crease as a standout trait to his approach, particularly through a testing Division 1 campaign.
Robinson added: “If you put across that you’re calm, it sends a message to the opposition. I might not be the biggest in stature but it sends a message to say ‘you’re not getting me out today’.
“It’s good not to panic as well in situations where you could play a rough shot. I try to stay as calm as I can, so for Walks to say something like that is very nice.”
The academy scholar, who signed his first professional deal in September 2017, made seven catches as Kent beat Nottinghamshire by 285 runs in Tunbridge Wells to end a four-game winless championship run.
“We’ve competed in every game this year apart from against Essex,” added Robinson. “We’ve been in a position where we have had sides on the ropes but not really capitalised on that where we’ve had a bad session.
“I think we needed that, it’s the best we’ve played across the whole four days.
“Division 1 gives us challenges every game that we, myself included, have to adapt to. We’re all learning, Division 1 is different and you can’t take your foot off the gas for an hour because teams will hurt you.
“I feel we’re slowly putting the pieces together now and we should bring some good results.”
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