Kent Women are confirmed semi-finalists in the Metro Bank One Day Cup League Two and will face Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens on Sunday 13th September.
Captain Megan Belt spoke to Ben Holliday about the successes of the 2026 campaign, and what the future looks like for The Horses.
Last season, the first since the introduction of the Tier 1 and Tier 2 system, Kent finished ninth in their One-Day Cup table with just one win from nine, but they qualified comfortably this year with six wins from eight.
Belt spoke about the impact of the pre-season preparations.
“Me and Hockers [Head Coach James Hockley] have done a lot of work with sports psychologist, who emphasizes the importance of pressure practice. Last year we tended to crack under pressure and the occasion sometimes got to us too much, so this year we’ve done a lot of scenario work on performing under pressure. So, part of the reason why we’ve been so successful is because everyone’s a little bit calmer. They’re not worried about it and they’re not cracking.”
Belt also claims savvy recruitment has been a significant factor in this season’s successes, praising this season’s signings.
“I think our standout signing has been Maddie Blinkhorn-Jones – she’s probably the best technical batter in our team. She’s a wicket keeper but can also field brilliantly as well. Kelly Castle has been great. She was the Essex captain for a couple of years, so she’s been good as that higher calibre of player, but also with all the experience that she has in the game as well. We had a few inexperienced players last year, so to add to that experience has been great. We’ve also had Rachel King and Hannah Hardwick on loan, and they’ve been fantastic.”
In terms of the One-Day Cup campaign, Belt described the unusual nature of the split season and described the positive effect of the strong T20 Blast campaign on their 50-over form.
“Obviously we started the One-Day Cup and played a few games, and then you go into the big T20 block, and then you’re back doing the One-Day Cup again. The start of our campaign wasn’t as good as it is now, and I think that’s a real building block and confidence that we had from the T20s.”
Belt spoke about Kent’s successes with the bat, praising leading run scorer Coco Streets.
“I’ve played with her for Kent for years and she’s always shown potential, she’s like my rock in the team as well. She plays proper cricket shots and technically looks like one of the best batters in our team. Coco’s also done a lot of work outside of Kent and done a lot of one-to-ones with her coach, so she deserves it as well, because she’s put the effort in.”
Belt also spoke about Kent’s depth of batting talent, including Amy Gordon, Elsa Barnfather and England Under 19s captain Genevieve Jeer.
“I think we can bat all the way down, we’ve got a very strong batting lineup, and for anyone coming in, it’s really hard to then get into that. It reminds me a little bit of when I first started playing for Kent when I was 15 and we had all of the England women’s top six batters in our side.”
Belt also discussed the success of the bowling attack.
“We all work really well as a bowling unit, and that’s all starting to click as well. Sydney Gorham’s been great up top. She worked really hard over the winter on her fitness and her bowling, so she deserves it. And she’s a great person as well. Having Hannah Hardwick come back in has been great, and we’ve done well with our spin bowling.”
Belt elaborated on the role of the spinners, who have bowled the lion’s share of overs this season.
“Amy Gordon and Holly Young are the two quicker spinners, whereas me and Jamo [Issy James] are the slower ones. Holly has been bowling well, because she’s got a bit more control. Where she’s a bit quicker, her economy rate is a lot better, because she’ll bowl it on the stumps each time, the same as Amy Gordon. Then me and Jamo will be the ones that get more dip to deceive the batters as we’re a little bit slower.”
Belt offered some thoughts on the future for the Horses and if they will eventually become a Tier One team, given the ECB have stated they will review the structure in 2029.
“To be brutally honest, I don’t think performances really matter. We could come top of the table and may not even be in for a shout of Tier 1. I think it’s more to do with how financially stable each county is, and how you’ve got to be able to fund your women’s team without the ECB putting in money. So, unfortunately, I’m not sure that will happen just yet. I hope it does, and I hope that performances and winning Tier 2 means that it does, because as players, we’re doing everything we can.
“Our job is to go out there and win, and put a statement to the ECB that actually, even though financially, we’re still not as strong as some counties, we’re still producing players. Even though they’ve stripped all of our players back, we’re still winning, we rebuild quickly, and that’s testament to our pathway. The new CEO’s great, and I know that he will do everything he can to make sure that we’re in with a good shout to be in Tier 1.”
Belt reflected on her own role in the future of Kent Women’s cricket.
“I’m so loyal to Kent and I want to do everything I can to make sure that the girls growing up in our pathway have the opportunity to be professional cricket players, which probably won’t happen for me. If I can do that for the future generation coming through, then I feel like I’ve done my job, and that’s what gets me up in the morning. Being a teacher, I’ve always got a bit of a special place in my heart for the youngsters coming through. Our Kent Under-18s are one of the best in the league. If we can keep producing players and keep performing then that’s when the ECB have surely got to think, ‘Kent are doing something special here, when they’re not the richest county.’
Belt has been very pleased with the crowds at Horses fixtures in 2026.
Image courtesy of Kent Cricket