OUR championship dreams have been kept alive by last week’s magnificent team effort against Surrey in Guildford.

Everything seemed stacked against us after losing the toss and being asked to bowl in hot conditions and on a flat pitch, but in the end it all came down to an incredible run chase with Kent scoring 232 in 34.1 overs.

It was a brilliant and spectacular effort on a pitch with four days wear and tear as for most of the final afternoon the Surrey camp felt that the target was out of our reach.

They did not anticipate the impact of the Kemp fireworks and it was good for all Kent’s supporters to see him back on top of his game.

When he gets going with the bat he’s well worth watching and that partnership with Matt Walker in the first innings was full of positive batting that ensured that the match moved forward quickly enough for a result to remain possible.

What was most pleasing to me was that the team played with great commitment and motivation and that everyone contributed to this exciting victory.

All the bowlers did their bit with Min Patel particularly special, but I must also make mention of the so-called non bowlers, Matt Walker and Martin van Jaarsveld.

Walker clean bowled Ali brown and van Jaarsveld had Graeme Thorpe caught at slip, both vital wickets that came at a crucial stage.

Our batting was once again impressive with Walker leading the way with a dominant 173 backed up by Kemp, but Key and van Jaarsveld, O’Brien, Hall and Fulton all made valuable contributions.

Fulton’s leadership also required special mention because he kept the lads positive throughout and had them all believing that the win was possible even when it appeared to be slipping slightly from our grasp.

All of this led to a happy and festive dressing room on Saturday evening, but sadly the good spirits of Saturday were well and truly dampened by Sunday’s poor weather and another disappointing limited overs’ performance.

The rain led to our totesport League game being reduced to 16 overs-a-side affair, but unfortunately we never really competed.

We hope to put that display behind us quickly because the team is very keen to show the fans that they can play some good one-day cricket.

Meanwhile, the 2nd XI enjoyed their fare share of excitement last week as well after beating Middlesex off the last ball of their three-day match.

They have played good cricket for most of the summer enjoying some excellent results and it’s comforting to know that our young players are making good progress under the tutorship of Paul Farbrace.

His valuable work and that of Chris Stone with the youth teams is vital for Kent’s future successes.

Despite winning six of their eight fixtures in the one-day competition the 2nds were pipped for the qualification place by Sussex, but I’m sure our young lads will bounce back.

They will miss Joe Denly now that he’s teamed up with England Under-19s, but Joe goes with all our best wishes.