With Kent’s first Championship fixture of 2014 now just a week away, fans and players alike are excited to see the side return to competitive action.

The 2013 season was not one that, as a whole, Kent fans will look back on with particularly fond memories. Save for a couple of outstanding performances from fans’ favourite Darren Stevens, and a few other rare highlights, including Brendan Nash’s incredible 199 retired ill to win the game at Gloucestershire, there was not a great deal for Kent fans to cheer about last year.

But, as ever, a new season brings new hope, and Kent’s opening LV= County Championship Division Two fixture at Worcestershire now just a week away.

And after the disappointments of 2013, keep it quiet, but there is in fact an undercurrent of optimism at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence for this year.

As the sun shone down on Canterbury for the club’s annual press day earlier this week, and the finishing touches were being put on some of the refurbishments that have taken place around the ground in the off-season, the club had a fresh and welcoming feel to it.

And, speaking to the players and the support staff, it would seem that most couldn’t be happier with how things have gone over the winter. There have three new additions to the playing squad – all of them in the bowling department, and the squad now has a roster of younger talent who are coming to the stage in their careers where they must stand up, take up the cudgels and cement their spot in the side’s starting XI.

Two of these – Sam Northeast and Daniel Bell-Drummond, both made centuries in Kent’s pre-season victory over rivals Essex; a good omen with competitive cricket approaching.

There are also some new faces that have been added to the backroom setup; including the recognisable name being Matt Walker, who has returned to the club where he spent 17 years of his playing career, now in the role of assistant coach.

His close friend Rob Key has returned to the captaincy role as James Tredwell focuses on his international commitments, and the opening batsman is a popular figure around the ground and in the dressing room, and will be sure to bring the best out of many in the squad.

In terms of the off-season signings, Doug Bollinger is the name that stands out and grabs people’s attention. Kent fans were delighted to see the club announce his signature, with a real positive being the fact that the Australian international is available for the full season, in all formats of the game.

Bollinger’s form in Sheffield Shield cricket – the Australian equivalent to county cricket – was good enough to see him back in the squad and on the fringes of national selection during the Aussies whitewash of England during this winter’s Ashes series Down Under, and the 32-year-old is renowned in world cricket as not just a top-class bowler, but a top-class character to have around the dressing room.

Speaking to Kent Cricket CEO Jamie Clifford earlier this week, he revealed that Bollinger had been the club’s only target in their hunt for their overseas signing, so the club themselves will be delighted to have him on board.

Joining Bollinger as a new face in the dressing room is David Griffiths; the 28-year-old seamer signed from Hampshire. Griffiths is an experienced county-level bowler, having played more than 60 games in all competitions for his home county of Hampshire, and could be an important member of a bowling attack with a lot more depth than it had last season.

The third new addition is Mitch Claydon. Claydon played 18 games for Kent during a loan spell from Durham in 2013, and having returned to his parent club to help them to the LV= County Championship Division One title at the end of the season, the Australian-born seamer has now returned to Kent on a permanent deal. The 31-year-old is another popular figure in the dressing room, and may well be one of the leaders of the attack come the season’s start, particularly in limited overs cricket.

Another huge positive for Kent in the off-season – and this really is one that cannot be underestimated – is the return to the club of Darren Stevens in 2014.

Stevo was in inspired form in 2013, single-handedly helping Kent to a number of their few victories in the season. Stevens’ performances are all the more impressive considering the fact that many of them were made while he was under the cloud of the match fixing trial in Bangladesh, but having been cleared of both charges of failing to report a corrupt approach, the 37-year-old is free to regain his place in the Kent side.

When Stevens hit his incredible unbeaten 205 on the final day of last season, many, including the man himself, worried that it may have been the final time he pulled on a Kent shirt. To the delight of everyone associated with the club, he lined up alongside the rest of his teammates for their squad photograph and is sure to be a key man for the club in all forms again in 2014.

The lift that Stevo’s good news gave the rest of the dressing room is another factor that cannot be underestimated. When catching up with a number of members of the squad at the media day, they seemed just as delighted about the news as Stevo was.

So, this pre-season has gone just about as well as it could have done in all departments for those behind the scenes at Kent. The better-than-expected British weather has allowed them plenty of time for outdoor training. They were able to snare their only overseas target for the entire campaign. They have strengthened the squad where it needed it most, and their “three-in-one” cricketer Darren Stevens is back in his rightful place.

Will Kent realistically be able to push for promotion? It will certainly be tough, as there are plenty of excellent teams around them in the second division this year. But, with a much stronger bowling attack than last year, and a number of youngsters keen to cement their spot in the starting XI, if the team is able to get onto a run of victories and turn the draws that held them back last season into wins (remember, Kent drew 11 of the 16 Championship fixtures last term), there is no reason that they cannot be right in the mixing pot come the latter stages of the campaign.

Darren Stevens picture supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com.