KENT are picking brains at ECB headquarters in St John’s Wood and holding discussions with The Mote Cricket Club in Maidstone to ensure there will be no repetition of this season’s points docking affair.

Though the county still await the official ECB paperwork following their failed pitch panel appeal against an eight-point penalty, Kent chief executive Paul Millman is keen to ensure Kent wickets never come under scrutiny again.

If there are lessons to be learnt from such a sorry episode in Kent cricket, then club officials appear keen to ensure that every view is taken into consideration.

"We are still assembling all the data from the Maidstone appeal and in due course we will form our conclusions as to what procedures, if any, might need to be improved," said Mr Millman.

"I have met with ECB pitches consultant Chris Wood and am in constant touch with The Mote to ensure our out-ground strategy is full-proof for the future.

"We still maintain the view that the penalty was harsh, but also believe that taking cricket to out-grounds like The Mote is vital for the health of the game."

Whilst conceding that managing cricket at smaller club grounds is very different to staging games at St Lawrence, Mr Millman added: "At lot has been made of the fact that we had to stage back-to-back championship matches at Tunbridge Wells and then Maidstone.

"I don’t feel that had anything to do with the issue of the Maidstone pitch, but it is very unusual to host back-to-back games away from our headquarters and I don’t believe we will ever do that again."