Opener Zak Crawley hopes Kent can prove they are one of the best sides in the country when they return to the top tier of the County Championship.

The competition is to revert to two divisions again in 2022 after two seasons under revised structures due to Covid.

Kent will be in Division 1, with clubs voting to return to a 10-team Division 1 and eight-team Division 2.

It comes after they were split into three groups this summer.

Matt Walker’s team claimed the Division 3 title in September, beating Middlesex in a winner-takes-all shoot-out, less than a week after winning the T20 Blast at Edgbaston as they beat Somerset in the final.

Crawley admitted: “I think that is what we wanted as a side (being back in Division 1).

“We are very happy with that outcome, to be honest.

“If we start the 2022 season like we finished this year, then I think we have got a good chance of competing.”

The 23-year-old, who has been selected in England’s 17-man squad for this winter’s Ashes, captained the side towards the end of the campaign, too, as he deputised for skipper Sam Billings.

Crawley added: “You want to play against the best.

“I think we are up there as one of the best sides in the country and, hopefully, we can start to show that.”

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