Join Bartholomew Hall for a preview of Kent Cricket's season as day 1 is curtailed by the rain at Canterbury. Plus, James William from the ME7 Podcast comes on to give his view of the final 4 matches for Gillingham.
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00:00 Hello and welcome along to Invictus Sport, the only show on your TV dedicated to wrapping
00:21 up all of Kent's sporting action. I'm Bartholomew Hall and here is what to expect on this Friday,
00:26 the 3rd of April.
00:29 Sportsy and waiting. Play called off at Canterbury as Kent's county championship season delayed.
00:37 The run in, four games to go and it's all or nothing for Gillingham's playoff hopes.
00:42 And action replay will bring you the best sporty clips and picks from across the county.
00:53 Of course it is the 5th, welcome back to the show. Great to have you after the break we
00:56 took last week. First of all we'll start with a round up of the headlines as always.
01:00 Maidstone's Alessia Russo could start for England this evening in the Lionesses' first
01:05 European qualifier at Wembley. It comes one week after the former Maidstone school girl
01:10 won her first club trophy in English football, where she came on in the dying stages for
01:15 Arsenal against Chelsea in the Women's League Cup final. The defending European champions
01:19 will take on Sweden, the same side Russo scored that iconic back hill goal against in the
01:24 22 Euros. Also set to take on France and Ireland in the Ligue 1 Group 3. The top two will automatically
01:32 qualify for next year's tournament in Switzerland.
01:36 Maidstone boxer Denis McCann is set to fight for the European super bantamweight crown
01:41 this summer. The 23-year-old already holds British and Commonwealth belts. He's now aiming
01:47 to add to the European crown in what will be a rematch with Romania in Atbaluta, with
01:53 the pair having drawn their first meeting in August last year. With a fight due to take
01:57 place in June this year, the young fighter says he's "definitely going to stop him this
02:03 time". The draw ended McCann's perfect record, but he was back with a bang in Birmingham
02:08 last month where he beat Brad Strand.
02:12 Dover District Council says it has no plans to repair two tennis courts after they were
02:16 branded dangerous by residents. Two courts on Conalt Road are the town's last remaining
02:22 free-to-use tennis sites and have since fallen into a state of disrepair, as described by
02:27 some local residents. Those who live there say they rarely see anybody using the courts.
02:32 A council spokesperson says that whilst it has many other sport facilities in the district,
02:37 the council is not in a position to address the issues raised with the courts and continues
02:42 to look into them.
02:45 And promotion-winning Holcombe women are bidding to reach the final of the England Hockey
02:50 Cup as they head to Doncaster this weekend. Nick Banderack's side have sealed promotion
02:55 in both their indoor and outdoor hockey plays this season and now look to cap it off with
03:01 a cup win too. It comes after four straight victories at the end of their Division One
03:05 South fixtures, securing that promotion. A win against Doncaster would set up the final
03:11 against either Surbiton Twos or Measton in May at Lee Valley.
03:16 Now with a little way less to go for this year's non-league seasons, let's take a look
03:19 at the fixtures coming up this week for Kent's side.
03:22 We'll start in League Two, four games left for Gillingham. Bradford City is the first
03:28 stop. The last time these two sides met was back in December. The 2-0 loss the Gilles
03:33 will be looking to overturn. We'll be bringing you more preview to that later on in tonight's
03:38 show.
03:39 Ebbs Fleet United will host their penultimate home match of the season against AFC Fylde.
03:43 Danny Sell's fleet currently sit 14th in the National League, three points above the relegation
03:48 zone. These two sides drew back in October. That was a one-all finish.
03:53 In the National League South, then, Tunbridge Angels will head to Bath City. They're the
03:56 only team in the division certain to remain next season, safe from relegation but also
04:01 too far from the playoffs. Meanwhile, playoff-cushing Maidstone will head to Farnborough after a
04:06 1-0 win away from Wednesday. Startford are with Haventon, Waterlooville and relegation-bound
04:10 Dover are with Hemel Hempstead.
04:12 Looking into the Idsmean League, then, Ian Victor will host the Hornets in the Premiership,
04:17 both sides matching in recent results with four games wins in six, whilst Chatham Town
04:22 are with Hornchurch and Margate are with Kingstonian.
04:25 Now we'll have more football in the second half of the show as I said there, but now
04:28 looking towards the cricket and we would have loved to have given you the live update of
04:33 Kent Cricket's club's first county championship match against Somerset from Canterbury, but
04:39 unfortunately the rain has got the better of the pitch, rendering today's opener a dud.
04:43 Well, there's plenty of changes that have been made over the winter break at Kent from
04:46 a new club captain to the prospect of creating one of the country's first professional women's
04:51 county outfits. Jack Darkin has been down to Canterbury with your season preview.
04:56 This season marks the beginning of a new era at Kent Cricket. With a new men's club captain
05:01 and the aspirations of the women's team to become professional, it's an exciting time
05:05 for the county.
05:07 Kent Cricket is a historic club located in Canterbury. They were founded in 1870 and
05:12 the club has a very rich and successful history, having won the county championship seven times,
05:16 the one day cup three times with their last win coming in 2022 and the T20 blast twice,
05:22 most recently in 2021.
05:24 At the end of last season, Daniel Beldrumman was announced as the new club captain of the
05:28 Spitfires after replacing Sam Billings, who will continue to captain the side in the white
05:33 ball format.
05:34 Yeah, it's been the easy part, it's been the off season so not too much stress yet, but
05:39 now I'm really looking forward to things getting underway. Obviously very proud to be leading
05:45 the guys and yeah, being a Kent kid coming through the ranks, it's that extra motivation
05:53 to do well for the club.
05:54 As well as a new captain, Kent's bowling line-up has been strengthened with the return of right
05:58 arm fast bowler Nathan Gilchrist. Having missed the majority of last year's competitions through
06:03 injury, he said he is ready to hit the ground running for the new season.
06:07 Yeah, I'm really excited. I think my season last year was a little bit disappointing just
06:13 through injury, so I'm really excited to get back into it. It feels like it's been a long
06:17 time. It feels like the last time I really got stuck in was the end of the 2022 season,
06:23 so about a year and a half now, so I'm really looking forward to getting back in.
06:28 But not only have Kent been boosted with the return of Gilchrist, the club have worked
06:32 hard to secure the signings of new arrivals such as Matthew Parkinson from Lancashire,
06:36 as well as two Australian internationals in Wes Agar from South Australia and Xavier Bartlett
06:41 from Queensland.
06:43 When asked about the new signings, head coach Matt Walker was full of praise for them.
06:47 I think these last 12 months, 8 months, there's been incredible elevation into the Australian
06:54 set-up. I think he's probably the most improved Australian cricketer in the country at the
06:58 moment. A really good guy and Sam obviously spoke very highly of him playing in the heat
07:03 with him in the winter. I thought it would be a great fit with Wes at the start of the
07:07 year and he's available at the start of the season, which I think gives us a great chance
07:10 to really kick off well. So those two, Wes as well, who was obviously a fantastic acquisition
07:15 last year, desperately wanted to come back, gives us a real Aussie feel which I think
07:20 we all quite enjoy.
07:21 It's also shaping up to be an exciting season for the women's team, with Kent-born and raised
07:26 Megan Belt being named as their new captain.
07:29 This season, Kent Cricket set out its aspirations to become one of eight counties to have a
07:33 professional women's team. Over the years, Kent Cricket has produced some world-class
07:37 players in their recent history, including England international Tammy Beaumont. Whilst
07:42 the club has its eyes on a professional bid for 2025, Megan said that it's good to look
07:47 into the future, but the club shouldn't get too distracted.
07:50 We've got to go into this season and focus on this season. I think if we get too ahead
07:54 of ourselves then we'll forget the brand of cricket that we play. So I think it's really
07:58 important to focus on this season. It's great to think in the future I'm one for it, I think
08:02 in the future quite a lot. But I think we've got to rein it back in a little bit and just
08:07 focus on this season. And I think if you perform well it'll put you in a good stint to be selected
08:12 if we get the bids.
08:14 With changes at the top and new signings for this year, it's shaping up to be yet another
08:18 historic season for Kent Cricket. Jack Darkin for KMTV.
08:23 Now in a late reshuffle before the start of the season, one of the names you heard about
08:27 there, Xavier Bartlett, has been denied permission to play county championship for cricket, for
08:33 Kent rather. He may still be available for other formats, but instead Kent have signed
08:37 South African all-rounder Berez Swainpole, who will be available from the 1st of May
08:42 until the end of the season.
08:43 Now he's going to miss out on the first three of the county championship matches, but the
08:47 25-year-old could be set to make his Kent debut against Lancashire at Old Trafford,
08:52 that's in May.
08:53 Now with more than 1,000 runs in his 33-match career, the left-handed batsman has been
08:57 described by Kent Director of Cricket as a genuine all-rounder.
09:03 Now we'll bring you the updates for Kent's match on Monday of course, but it's time now
09:07 to show you a video from our website. Here's a video from about a Sevenoaks fencing club
09:11 that received a game-changing grant to help develop future stars.
09:14 Well, it looks like we had no sound there. I wonder what happened. That's fine, they're
09:36 running around in the gallery right now. What we're going to do is we're going to show you
09:40 action replay, of course the favourite part of the programme where we show clips and pictures
09:44 from around the county of you taking part in sport. Take a look at this week's.
09:51 Starting off this week's action replay, Kent MP Tracey Crouch conquered a whopping 65-kilometre
09:57 cross-country cycle alongside the father of Amy Williams, a patient of Kent's Surrey & Sussex
10:03 Air Ambulance.
10:04 The Williams family, grateful for the care Amy received, decided to pedal from Redhill
10:09 to Rochester, raising more than £16,000 along the way.
10:13 An array of joy and optimism and things like that.
10:19 And shifting gears to the Folkestone 10-mile race, it was a lively event. The coastal town
10:24 streets were filled with runners from across the county, all eager to take on the challenge.
10:30 Despite the windy conditions slowing them down by a minute and a half compared to last
10:34 year, Josh Carr sped to victory in the men's race, while Charlotte Johnston dashed her
10:38 way to the women's title for the Maidstone Harriers.
10:43 And ahead of the cricket season, Kent's cricket stars took a detour to the dartboard to face
10:48 off against world champion Rob Cross. With Kent branded darts in hand, it was a close
10:53 match, ending in a friendly draw and a jersey swap to top it off.
11:00 Well that wraps up this week's action replay. Want to appear in next week's? Well send in
11:05 your clips and pics on social media or email them over to us for a chance to appear here
11:10 in next week's action replay.
11:12 Well thank you very much Abby on the Alps there for action replay. If you want to get
11:20 involved you absolutely can. You saw the info on the screen just then, make sure you send
11:24 in your clips and pics. Tell us which part of the county you come from and what exactly
11:28 it is you do and you'll be here on the show next week. And of course that video we were
11:33 showing you of the Sevenoaks fencing club is available on our website kmtv.co.uk. Just
11:38 go there, click on the sports tab and you'll be able to watch all of the interviews and
11:42 features from Invicta Sport. Now we've reached half time which means it is time for a break
11:47 but afterwards we'll be taking a look at Gillingham's League 2 run in with just four games to go.
11:52 The playoff hopes are still mathematically alive. See you then, bye bye.
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15:41 Four games to go and two places to make up. This season's League 2 table has been a tight
15:46 battle in the fight for the playoffs with Gillingham's last hopes of a Wembley finish
15:51 and a return to League 1 narrowly hanging in the balance.
15:55 It comes after a brutal 5-1 loss against Harrogate last time out, after which head
15:59 coach Stephen Clements was furious with his team.
16:03 The spaces and the way people's heads went, not acceptable and that's not something I
16:08 want to ever see again when I'm in charge of a football team.
16:12 The loss knocked Gillingham down to ninth in the standings and with nearby sitting sides
16:16 still with a game in hand, Gillingham's hopes of a playoff place are slim but still mathematically
16:22 possible. It means Stephen Clements' side will have to win all four remaining games
16:28 if they want to keep their playoff chances alive.
16:30 Look, there's nothing wrong with being optimistic but as I say I'm just concentrating on Bradford
16:35 and once we've taken care of that business we'll see where we are on Saturday night and
16:39 if we get a victory then maybe we can discuss the game after or what the future looks like
16:43 but for me it's just concentrating on the next game now.
16:46 Look, I watched Liverpool win all those trophies a couple of years ago or a year ago, whatever
16:53 it was and all they spoke about the players and Jurgen Klopp was the next game and that's
16:57 the right thing to do. What I will say is we want to finish the season strong so we've
17:01 got four games to go and we've got to do as well as we can.
17:05 It comes as chairman Brad Gallinson has taken to social media to reiterate to fans his long-term
17:10 desires for Gillingham to climb the football league. Defender Max Eamer believes the club
17:15 has changed direction for the better in the past year.
17:18 It's not always about being attractive, it's sometimes about being effective as well. Whether
17:22 that means we mix it up, go long, play short, whatever it is, whatever needs to be done
17:25 to win games but we are certainly heading in the right direction like you said and the
17:29 gaffer, all the staff have been great since they came in so it's just about us, the XI,
17:34 whoever that is on the pitch at the time making sure that we can sort of prepare them for
17:38 the hard work that they do.
17:40 Gillingham's season is due to end on the 27th of April when they take on Doncaster here
17:44 at Priestfield, a team which beat them back in September. So hoping to reverse that result
17:49 and despite the chances being slim, continue into the playoffs, the message from the boss
17:55 is clear. Take each game as it comes and just maybe the season could be extended.
18:00 Bartholomew Hall for KMTV.
18:02 Now earlier on I was joined by James William from the ME7 podcast to talk about this week's
18:07 events and how he's feeling ahead of the final four games but I started by asking about his
18:12 upcoming charity football match against Medway United FC.
18:17 Yeah so obviously the ME7 podcast are doing a charity match at Starmellow Sports Club
18:25 on the 25th of May, three o'clock, with Medway United. It's in aid of a charity called Head
18:34 in the Game which are actually the official charity with the FA which is all surrounding
18:39 men's mental health. As you might well know, people do know, is that we've got a mental
18:43 health podcast linked to the ME7 podcast that we do where Gills fans come on and talk about
18:49 their experiences with mental health and they approached us a while ago, Medway United,
18:53 and said would you be interested? 100% definitely. So yeah, 25th of May, Starmellow Sports Club.
18:59 Some Gilles legends are going to be playing. We can't obviously announce who's going to
19:02 be playing yet. It's going to be announced on our socials very, very soon. But yeah,
19:06 if you're about on the 25th of May, three o'clock, at Starmellow Sports Club, definitely
19:09 please come down. And if you check out our socials and Medway United socials, there's
19:13 a Just Giving page that you can go on and donate to men's mental health as well.
19:17 No, that's amazing. It's for a great cause. I was going to push you on to see if you can
19:22 give us a hint about the Gillingham legend. But we'll wait. We'll wait. If you're not
19:26 going to spill anything, that's absolutely fine. But yeah, as you said, Saturday, 25th
19:30 May, exciting stuff there. Now let's move on to talk about Gillingham. We'll start and
19:35 just kind of get it out of the way. Monday's loss. I think it needs to be mentioned against
19:39 Harrogate. How are you feeling about that a few days on now?
19:43 Yeah, I was angry and frustrated at the time. I think now I'm disappointed in what happened
19:51 and the capitulation of the team, whether it was a mentality thing or whether it was
19:56 a thing of, yeah, I don't know whether it was too many mistakes made by too many individuals
20:02 all in one moment that led to that capitulation. But in answer to your question, a sense of
20:08 disappointment that we've allowed that game to happen and allowed that to happen to effectively
20:15 write our season off with pretty much four games to go.
20:19 So from your perspective, I know that it's still mathematically possible, but you think
20:23 that that has kind of been the, I don't know, the demotivator going into these final four
20:28 games then, because it is a shame because when you think to the start of Gillingham
20:31 season that had those brilliant first opening games, the wins, the win against Southampton,
20:36 of course, and to end the season in such the same light would be brilliant, wouldn't it?
20:42 Yeah, yeah. I remember, I remember speaking to you out, out, out live in Como and we,
20:47 and we did a, we did an interview right by the, right by the river. And, and it was one
20:52 of the best, best times I've ever had as a, as a GF fan in, in, in over 20 years. And
20:56 yeah, that, that, those moments a long distance in the memory and it's been, it's been an
21:04 up and down season for sure.
21:06 We've, I think we've tinkered, I think we've tinkered with the playoffs because of probably
21:11 how poor and inconsistent league is rather than, rather than just us solely. It will
21:17 be interesting to see how we respond to, to, to Bradford tomorrow afternoon. That'll be
21:21 really, really interested. But I think when you get beat five way one away from home and,
21:25 and, and, and end up conceiving five goals in 45 minutes, it's going to, it's going to
21:31 ruin any team mentally. I can imagine these final four games are going to be, are going
21:37 to be a tough, tough ask to, to keep us in the playoff race now.
21:41 Well, one of the big changes this season, of course, was Stephen Clements coming in.
21:45 We know his future is secure at the club. We heard that from the chairman just last
21:49 week when he was speaking to the press, we saw a different side to him after the Harrogate
21:53 game. I think we've kind of seen everything now we've seen, you know, his, his ticked
21:57 out all off the firsts of his, his first managerial spot. Do you think that he's now settled enough
22:04 that he can go into the next season with, with a clean slate and start again?
22:10 I remain unconvinced on Stephen Clements. He's a very, very nice guy. He's very approachable.
22:15 He's very nice to the fan base. He always appreciates the fans. And that's one thing
22:20 I will, I will say for sure. But only when he was brought into to, to, to take the jilling
22:25 job, it was, it was, it was brought in as head coach. And that title is that you are
22:30 there to improve the players. Do I think every single player is improved under Stephen Clements?
22:35 No, I don't. And that's, that's, that's a worry in itself. Do I feel he is the man currently
22:42 on what I'm currently seeing to take us forward and progress this next season? No, I probably
22:48 don't. Unfortunately.
22:49 Well, it's a big question to put to Brad Ganninson, of course, if we'll see what happens, I suppose
22:57 the other half, the other side of the summer. And one of the questions for the fans before
23:01 then is one that's from the club and it's who is your player of the season? They're
23:06 also asking about the goal of the season. I actually spoke with Maxime this week at
23:11 the press conference. He's reaching his 400th appearance for the club. He may get there
23:15 before the end of the season. Let's hear from him now about what the team, what being as
23:20 a part of Gillingham football club has meant to him.
23:23 I mean, since the day I walked in, I've loved it. Obviously I left for that one year, but
23:29 I've felt at home ever since I've been at the club. So I just, I want to keep making
23:32 sure I put in the performances to get those appearances. And first and foremost, that's
23:36 the most important thing. If I'm doing, if I'm playing all these games, it means I'm
23:39 doing something right. So I'll take it game by game in that situation as well.
23:42 James, what do you think of Maxime? Is he a contender for player of the season for you?
23:46 Yeah, he was my player of the season. I voted for Max. I think I've not always been a big
23:52 fan of Max. He's sometimes not hit the heights at Gilles that he'd like to have done, but
23:57 I think he's been our best player this season by, by long stretch. He's most experienced.
24:01 He spent the first half of the season, pretty much the first half of the season out of the
24:05 team. He got himself back in. He's the reason that we don't concede many goals. He's, yeah,
24:11 he's been very, very good this season and he fully deserves reaching up to that 400
24:16 appearances. He's, he's, he's what, what we now call probably a Gillingham legend.
24:20 Absolutely. I've seen, I've seen lots of people put his name forward, seen lots of names being
24:23 thrown around on social media as well about who people might be voting for. Of course,
24:27 that's all available on the Gillingham website. Thank you very much for joining us. I know
24:31 you've got podcasts coming as we go into these final four games. So I hope people can come
24:35 along and support you on there. And of course, with the charity football match. Thank you
24:38 very much for joining us tonight, James.
24:40 Thank you.
24:41 Now, don't forget, you can keep up to date with all the latest football news by reading
24:47 Kent online. But did you also know you can have your weekly digest of Gilles news sent
24:51 directly to your email inbox. You don't want to miss it as we hit the tail end of the season.
24:56 Just search Kent online, email alerts, sign up on the website for all the latest written
25:00 transfer news, match reports and interviews. And as you can see on the screen, there's
25:04 also the option to sign up for all the latest non league news too.
25:11 Now it is full time on today's episode of Invictus Sport. Hopefully on Monday, we'll
25:15 bring you a full roundup of this weekend's action at Canterbury as Kent begin their county
25:22 championship season. Finally, tomorrow, it looks like the weather should be a bit brighter,
25:26 but fingers crossed, of course, for all those cricket fans that are heading out there. Before
25:29 we go, let's actually take a listen to what head coach Matt Walker had to say to the press
25:35 when the abandonment had been announced.
25:37 Yeah, a bit anti climatic, I suppose. Yes, it's frustrating at any stage of the season
25:44 when you lose a day to rain, none more so than day one of a new season. Everyone, as
25:49 you say, is raring to go, preseason's out the way, winter's are out the way, all the
25:53 good work's been done. Yeah, you just feel a bit of a cold spring hasn't been released
25:59 yet for the lads. They're so desperate to get going. We're not the only ones by the
26:03 looks of it around the country. I think a lot are in the same position and nothing we
26:07 can do about it. That's the way it is, you can't fight that, unfortunately. Come back
26:11 tomorrow and see how we get on.
26:14 And I've just been told by my producer that it is due to be sunny tomorrow, so enjoy it
26:18 if you are heading down to Canterbury. Now that is full time on today's episode of Invictus
26:22 Sport. If you want more from KMTV we've got plenty of other special programmes available
26:26 on our website. We've got the Kent Politics Show, Made in Kent, Kent on Climate, the Kent
26:30 Film Club and of course all the previous episodes of Invictus Sport ready, waiting for you to
26:35 enjoy at kmtv.co.uk. We'll be back on Monday with a brand new episode of Invictus Sport.
26:41 We'll see you then, bye bye.
26:43 [Music]
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