Matt Walker says the signings of James Harris and Wayne Parnell show Kent’s ambition and he hopes their presence will inspire the county’s young bowlers.

Harris – brought in on loan from Middlesex – returned match figures of 6-68 on his debut against Gloucestershire last weekend, while Parnell – who flew in on Tuesday – boasts genuine international pedigree.

Walker says both players were targeted by the county and hopes they will become role models for the likes of Matt Hunn, Charlie Hartley, Ivan Thomas and Hugh Bernard.

The Kent head coach said: “The pair of them (Harris and Parnell) add to our ever-increasing talented pool of bowlers but we want our younger bowlers to make a statement as well.

“This is the level we want them to be at. We want the younger boys to be able to raise their bar so that they can come in and play as well.”

Walker described Kent’s attack against Gloucestershire as ‘magnificent’ and he believes the players are already reaping the rewards of a good pre-season.

He added: “We have been conscious over the past couple of years about how we’ve started and we’ve spent a lot of time on the areas we needed to improve.

“We worked hard over the winter to put them into place so that we hit this game in the best possible condition. It was a good wicket but we looked a really threatening attack.”