Kent captain James Tredwell had mixed emotions about leaving role behind to join England in New Zealand
by Alex Hoad
James Tredwell admitted he
was disappointed to be leaving Kent’s pre-season preparations
behind before jetting off on England duty.
The 31-year-old (pictured)
was called-up to New Zealand as cover for the injured Graeme Swann
for the final two Tests.
He is set to fly back on
March 28 and will miss the opening two-day practice game against
Hampshire, which starts that day but said he could be involved in
the warm-up clash with Surrey the following Tuesday.
The spinner, who has replaced
Rob Key as skipper, said: "I was around the Kent boys last week and
it was good to get my teeth into it before getting the call and
getting dragged away.
"I’m slightly disappointed as
I’d want to be involved with Kent but it’s not something you can
knock back.
"I’ll stay in constant
contact with goings on here. Jimmy (Adams) and the senior players
have it all in hand, there is a schedule in place. Fitness is an
important part of it.
"Going into pre-season, I
wanted to sit down as a group and have a chat but I won’t be able
to do that now. There’s still a week after I am back for us to be
able to do it, though."
Tredwell said that, despite
it being early in pre-season, he had noticed a different feeling
around the club as they prepare for their first summer under a new
skipper in seven years.
He said: "This is a new time
for the club. It’s early days but even though Rob’s still an
important part of the group, there’s a slightly different
feeling.
"The way we do things is not
vastly different yet. It’s going to be a challenge but we’ll get
used to it."
He also said Key would be
important in filling the void in his absence. He added: "We have
got a good group of senior players.
"Those senior heads are going
to be important if I am not available.
"I’m sure at some point we’ll have an official
vice-captain but it’s not overly necessary at the moment. There are
two or three guys who could easily do the job."
13/03/13
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