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Kent chief executive Jamie Clifford views Tunbridge Wells Festival Week a great success

The Nevill Ground
The Nevill Ground

Kent chief executive Jamie Clifford has hailed Tunbridge Wells Festival Week a great success, a year after centenary celebrations at the Nevill Ground were washed out.

In 2012, the LV= County Championship Division 2 match with Hampshire was hit by flooding while only 33 overs were possible in an abandoned Clydesdale Bank 40 game against Northamptonshire and the t20 opener against Sussex was switched to Canterbury due to a waterlogged pitch, although it still fell victim to the weather at the St Lawrence ground.

However, a year on, Kent managed full days of cricket in glorious weather in two YB40 games, while two-and-a-half days of play were possible in the championship draw against Leicestershire.

Mr Clifford said: “We had some challenges with the weather on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday but notwithstanding that, it’s been a great success. We’ve had decent crowds in and yet again Tunbridge Wells week has proved its worth.

“The groundstaff were magnificent, they turned round a soggy mess into good playing conditions. They worked a miracle and without the support of Tunbridge Wells Borough Council, I think we’d struggle to come here.

He added: “All things being equal, we’ll be back here next year. This was the 101st Festival Week so roll on the 102nd in 2014. This week hasn’t moved for a long time, we like it during half-term. It’s frustrating when we have wet days but this year was considerably more successful than the disaster that was 2012.”

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