More on KentOnline
More on KentOnline
Home Canterbury Sport Article
Harry Podmore and Zak Crawley were the recipients of County caps No.218 and No.219, respectively, as Kent held their end-of-season presentation.
Podmore has collected 115 wickets in 46 appearances since signing for Kent at the start of last year, including 52 in Division 1 this season.
He was handed his cap by head coach Matt Walker, who hailed the 25-year-old’s influence both on and off the field.
Head coach Walker said: “It’s a great privilege to add someone to a long list of very great and distinguished cricketers who have been capped at this great club.
“For this player, he’s a relatively new player at the club who joined us two years ago.
“Since his arrival he’s been a live wire around the dressing room and fit into this culture that we’re trying to create at the club and been at the heart and soul of it.
“On the field he’s a Trojan, he’s a workhorse, he will bowl as long as you want him to bowl and in his first season, 45 wickets was a great start to his Kent career.
“The question will have been asked by many, could he match it in first division cricket?
“The answer is yes and with 50+ wickets again this season plus some decent performances in the Royal London, this player has earned the right to this cap.
“It’s always about more than the performance on the field, it’s about what the player offers around the dressing room, what he offers to the club and does he fit into the values of the club?”
Having made his first team debut at 19 against Essex in May 2017, Crawley has since tallied 3,047 runs in 74 games across all formats and a best of 168 against Glamorgan last year.
Such has been Crawley’s rise to prominence that has was recently named in the England Test squad alongside Kent teammate Joe Denly ahead of this winter’s tour of New Zealand.
He was awarded his cap by Kent skipper Sam Billings, who paid homage to the 21-year-old’s dedication.
Billings said: “As Matt (Walker) rightly said, it’s not only about the performance on the pitch, it’s also about what you offer in the dressing room as well.
“This player encapsulates everything we stand by at this club.
“A home-grown player who’s come through the academy system with a work ethic that is second to none.
“It helps when he actually lives at the cricket ground. You’ll see him in the nets every single day.
“Fitness wise he works harder than anybody and of course he had an England call-up this week.”
Read more: All the latest Kent sport news
