Kent assistant coach Matt Walker says being asked to work with some of England’s brightest prospects overseas this winter is a great honour and will help him as a coach.

The 41-year-old, who spent 15 years as a Kent player, will head to South Africa next month to work with players chosen as part of the England Performance Programme.

It is the second straight winter Walker has been part of the coaching staff at the training camp in Potchefstroom, utilising world class facilities at altitude which are used by Olympic athletes.

Walker will focus on the batting skills of a six-strong seamer group, who will be under the guidance of fast bowling coach Kevin Shine from November 11 to 23, and he said: “It is flattering to be asked back.”

Walker added: “It is an honour. Experiences like this and the opportunity to work with the ECB coaches can only help improve you as a coach and hopefully Kent will see the benefit too.”

This year’s crop of prospects includes Somerset twins Craig and Jamie Overton; Tymal Mills, of Sussex; Jake Ball, of Nottinghamshire; Gloucestershire’s Craig Miles; and Olly Stone, of Northants.

He said: “I don’t know much about the group of players this year but I am looking forward to getting out there and starting work. Bowlers tend to not get as much time to work on their batting as other players and tend to get pushed to the back of the queue when it comes to time in the nets.”

As preparation, Walker has been on a level four coaching course at the National Cricket Performance Centre in Loughbourough over the past few weeks.