For somewhere which had been home for years, Darren Stevens has found it tough to head back to Kent’s Canterbury ground since his departure.

Stevens has found himself without a county contract for the first time since the 1990s this year.

The 47-year-old has, instead, got stuck into coaching and playing club cricket.

But with his summer not starting competitively until mid-May, he endured more than a month of watching his old team-mates in action.

“I was literally trying to keep myself as busy as possible,” he explained.

“I’ve had 27 pre-seasons. All of a sudden, it comes to a stop - not by your choice, but by somebody else’s.

“March came around and I’m usually in with the lads, training and playing.”

Kent have endured a slow start to their County Championship Division 1 campaign without him. They won their opener against Northamptonshire but are winless since.

All-rounder Stevens, whose legendary status was recognised at the end of last season with Kent’s No.3 shirt retired, said: “Fair enough, Northants, that was a good win. Then you start playing the better sides.

“I think I’ve only been to the ground a couple of times, I live a couple of minutes down the road.

“But I’ve found it quite difficult, not going to play.

“I’ve packed my diary with coaching and just trying to keep busy.”

Even after leaving Kent, veteran Stevens still wanted to play on this summer.

He spoke to Ash-born Sussex head coach Paul Farbrace - a former England assistant coach and Kent director - but a move never materialised.

Stevens explained: “I had a really nice meet with Farby.

“It was nice to catch up anyway because we’ve known each other for years.

“They have got lots of young players but not many to sponge off - and this was before they signed Steve Smith.

“There’s Steve Finn but he has a bad injury with his knee. Ollie Robinson only will play three or four games and then there’s Cheteshwar Pujara.

“I was really excited about it. But, unfortunately, the hierarchy dug their heels in and said ‘No’.”

With no pro deal on the table, Stevens has thrown himself into coaching.

He’s the assistant bowling coach with South East Stars, has offered his guidance at Kent College and has worked with ex-Kent skipper Sam Northeast.

“I really love it,” said Stevens.

“My old man [Bob], before he passed, he said ‘Make sure you give back’.

“When you’re playing, you don’t think about coaching too much. It made me think about how much I love it.

“I have a lot of knowledge. It would be wrong to not give it back.”

But Stevens would relish the opportunity to still play professionally - if it arises - in, for example, the Royal London One-Day Cup. He did, after all, play a typically talismanic role in Kent Spitfires’ 2022 success.

On the prospect of playing in the 50-over tournament again, Stevens, who began playing for Kent in 2005, replied: “Who knows? I will never say no.

“If something comes up, that will be great.

“We will see.”

This week, however, it’s been the chance to represent his country which has been at the forefront of his mind.

He received his first national call-up for England over-40s’ 45-over match against Wales at Broxbourne CC on Tuesday and blasted a 48-ball 72 in their 293-4 during a 92-run win.

Stevens said: “You always want to play for your country.

“The main team would have been ideal but, whatever team, it’s great!”

It means he’s now representing England at a time when the eldest of his two boys, eight-year-old Flynn, will at least have some idea of the enormity of the occasion.

“They still call me Stevo,” revealed Stevens.

“So I walk down the stairs and still get ‘Stevo’.

“My eldest [Flynn], he loves it. He’s a proper badger!”

Stevens has started the summer at St Lawrence & Highland Court who are in the Kent League Premier Division for the first time in 13 years.

The Leicester-born player got off to a fine start, blasting a century in a narrow home win over Blackheath earlier this month. He then missed their weekend home seven-wicket defeat against Sevenoaks Vine.

Stevens expects they’ll have too much to be involved in a relegation battle, despite losing 2022 overseas Mickey Edwards, who has signed for Yorkshire on an 18-month contract, and he’s eyeing a top-half finish.

He said: “We’ve got a really nice side.

“We’ve got all bases covered - top of the order, middle of the order and some hitters at the end as well.

“We have so many good seamers, the key will be keeping them fit. I cannot see why we will not be in the top half of it.

“I think I can play 13 games.

“There’s 18 overall, so that’s a nice chunk.”

Stevens seems to have adapted well since his Kent exit.

He does, however, see why other players have found it challenging when coming out of the professional ranks.

He said: “I can see why people struggle. I’ve had a nice group of people around me to lead me in this direction.

“A mate of mine years ago said ‘When you finish, make sure you have not just one - but two or three jobs’... I think I have five at the minute!

“I’m not going to lie, I do miss it a lot - because I still feel I can do a job somewhere.

“It looks like it’s at Highland Court for the summer.”