Head coach Matt Walker cannot wait for Kent’s players to test themselves in Division 1 of the County Championship again this summer.

Kent start their season with a four-day clash in Chelmsford against Essex, which starts today.

The county finished fourth in Division 1 in 2019 before two Covid-affected campaigns in the past two seasons saw the long-format structure changed in England.

But it’s back as you were in 2022 and Walker knows Kent’s squad need to step up to the plate once more.

“We felt we competed really well in 2019,” Walker said.

“We know this is where the players want to be, in Division 1, and we all want to test ourselves against the best sides.

“Whether it’s Essex, Somerset, Lancashire or whoever, we know we are going to have to be at it every game. We can’t really take our foot off the gas at any stage.

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“But I think that’s what this group wants. They want to be tested.

"They want to play for England and they want to be the best cricketers they can be. This is the place to do it.

“Essex is an exciting start. We are looking forward to it.

"A local derby first up is enough to get the juices flowing really strongly.”

Kent could hand a debut to overseas pace bowler Jackson Bird, with the Australian in their 13-man squad, but South African all-rounder George Linde, who arrived in the UK on Monday, will only become available next week.

Essex will be without overseas spinner Simon Harmer, who is playing for South Africa in their Test series against Bangladesh.

But Walker doesn’t put any onus on who you come up against in the season opener.

“I don’t think it matters who we play in that first game - they are all good sides in Division 1,” he added.

“You can’t look down that list and think ‘Oooh, we’ll wait for them’ because they are all good sides.

“We have played some pretty good cricket against Essex in the last couple of seasons without actually getting over the line against them in a couple of close games.

“It’s always a tough side to face, whatever the time may be, with the threat that they have. But I think first game of the season, whoever comes out the blocks quickest in that first game usually seems to get the upper hand and can wrestle some control of the game.”

Ollie Robinson will take the gloves at the start of the campaign and captain the side, with stand-in skipper Jack Leaning (hamstring) having been deemed unable to play in their opener by the club’s physios while club captain Sam Billings is away at the Indian Premier League.

After discussions between the player and the Kent coaching team, opener Zak Crawley will not be selected for the match, either, having only returned from England duty in the Caribbean in the past few days.

Walker added: “We start the season with Sam not here, and that gives us a bit of clarity with Ollie behind the stumps.

“Jordan Cox is up-and-coming and wants to pursue his keeping as well but, at the moment, it’s a pretty straightforward decision.

“We have got three wicket-keepers that are all very talented cricketers. It’s tricky to keep everybody happy.

“But Ollie has done a brilliant job, I think he has been one of our stand-out players over the last couple of seasons with the bat, and his keeping is getting better.

“He played with the England Lions a couple of winters ago and he is desperately keen to push on and get some recognition.”

Kent’s first home match at The Spitfire Ground against Lancashire will start from next Thursday.