Acting chief executive Jamie Clifford sees plenty of reason to be positive at Kent County Cricket Club
by Mark Stokes
Jamie Clifford says he believes
Kent County Cricket Club have the chance to forge another golden
chapter in their history.
The county’s acting chief executive admits he is just about old
enough to remember the club’s glory era in the 1970s and 80s and
feels they could be on the threshold of another.
Mr Clifford, who took over as
acting chief executive following Paul Millman’s retirement last
week, says it is an exciting time on and off the pitch.
The 33-year-old said: "We could be
very gloomy. We’re in the depths of a recession. The redevelopment
project hasn’t started yet and the financial demands on the club
are not reducing.
"But there are lots of things going
for us. The planning permission is there for the redevelopment.
We’ve got support from the city council and on the cricket front,
we’ve got a successful side.
"Getting promotion back to Division
1 (of the LV County Championship) at the first attempt was
brilliant news.
"Think back five years and our
one-day cricket was not our strongest suit but the guys have worked
hard and to reach Twenty20 finals day three years running is a
tremendous achievement."
Mr Clifford became the Kent Cricket
Board’s director of cricket development in 2002 and later combined
that role with that of director of business development. He will
continue to operate in the latter role despite taking on his new
duties.
Thursday, December 03 2009