Simon Willis is tipping Ivan Thomas as the next Kent youngster to be knocking on the first team door.

The 21-year-old seamer has battled back from a serious back injury and caught the eye earlier this season with six wickets to help Leeds/Bradford University beat Sussex and then claimed the scalps of Mark Pettini and James Foster on his Championship debut against Essex at Chelmsford in May,

High Performance Director and Second Xl coach Willis, who was at Repton School in Derbyshire this week watching Academy youngsters Michael Waller, Piers Richardson and Ryan Davies play in the Bunbury Festival, believes that Thomas, Adam Riley and Daniel Bell-Drummond are all ready to make the step up.

Willis (pictured) said: "Ivan was involved at under-17 level and had a little taste of things then.

"But he suffered a double stress fracture of the back and had to go through 18 months of rehabilitation, including bowling off a walk rather than running, while working on strengthening his body."

Willis said: "He started bowling off a long run again during the winter before last and showed enough raw ability.

"We took him into the Academy and he did brilliantly in the second team last season with minimum experience."

It earned Thomas, a former pupil at John Roan School in Blackheath, his first professional contract earlier this year.

Willis added: "We signed him because we felt there was massive capacity for growth in his game.

"He is natural, hits a length consistently and with his height, gets bounce as well.

"I have always felt he could perform at this level but not as quickly as it has happened."

Thomas was one of seven home produced players who featured against South Africa earlier this month but picked up a minor hamstring injury which sidelined him last week.