Hard work and "bouncebackability" the key to Kent's revivial
20.09.26, 11:44 Updated 20.09.26, 12:56
Fred Atkins
Two decades since the word “bouncebackability” entered the Oxford English Dictionary, Adam Hollioake used it to describe the key to Kent’s promotion challenge this year. “You're always a bit anxious after a loss,” he admitted, after the win over Lancashire. “You don’t know how it's going to affect the morale in the camp, especially at this time of year when everyone's a bit tired, but I think a feature of the side this year has been their bouncebackability.”
Kent have won seven red-ball games this year, two more than they managed in the last three years combined. Hollioake was only here for the last of these, but the contrast with 2025 remains obvious. “A number of times we've had disappointing performances,” he said. “Last year that would have continued on for a period of time, but this year, every time we've had that disappointing performance, we've been able to bounce back. So, I think as a coach, probably the most important, most impressive thing from the side has been their ability to put the past behind them and just get back to their fundamentals.”
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Fred Atkins Fred Atkins is a former Kent Messenger sports editor and has written several books, including The Spitfire Diaries, an account of Kent's 2021 season and Monty Panesar's "The Full Monty". He has followed KCCC since 1993 and has covered them for the ECB and Wisden since 2021.