Kent batsman Daniel Bell-Drummond believes the newly developed Beckenham complex can help nurture talent and produce a pool of county cricketers from the area.
The 21-year-old is one of several Kent players who grew up in south-east London, with Bexley’s Adam Riley and Adam Ball, as well as Greenwich’s Ivan Thomas also becoming regulars in the first team.
And Bell-Drummond insists the County Ground in Beckenham, which has been redeveloped to incorporate an indoor cricket school, will offer vital support to young cricketers hoping to develop their game.
“There’s so much talent in this area and the facilities here can only help the development of young players,” the former England U19 batsman said.
“The new sports hall and the nets are fantastic and it means all parts of the county are covered.
“Fewer kids from around here will have to travel to Canterbury for sessions, which can only be a positive.
“My dad put in the driving yards for me but some kids aren’t as fortunate and might not have someone to take them to training.
“But with these facilities it means they can still be a part of the club.
“Hopefully now we’ll see even more players from this area coming through and playing for the county.”
As well as providing young cricketers with superb facilities, Beckenham has also hosted three matches this season and Bell-Drummond insisted the squad view the ground as a second home.
“It’s brilliant to be back,” he said.
“The whole team love coming here and it’s just ten minutes down the road from where I grew up, so it’s very special for me.
“It’s always a nice wicket and a decent crowd.
“Canterbury is obviously our main ground but Beckenham feels like a second home for us.
“It’s great to come here and treat the fans so hopefully we can play a lot more cricket here over the next few seasons.”
Despite the positive vibe around the ground, the Spitfires were unable to follow-up their impressive T20 Blast victories over Surrey and Somerset against Gloucestershire on Friday.
Bell-Drummond, who scored 50 against Somerset, smashed two sixes in an assured 31, while Sam Billings hit 26.
The hosts could only post 156-6 in front of a 4,000-strong Beckenham crowd and the visitors cruised to the total, with skipper Michael Klinger (69) and Ian Cockbain (54) seeing Gloucestershire home with nine wickets remaining.
But Kent’s young opener is confident that the Spitfires can bounce back in the T20 competition.
Bell-Drummond said: “It’s nice to get starts for the team but it’s a shame I haven’t been able to kick on and get a big score.
“I think they bowled really well and executed their plans, we were pretty happy at the interval but they came out firing and showed us how to play on that wicket.
“You can’t die wondering in T20 cricket but maybe we tried to push too hard and lost a few wickets because of that.
“We had one of our off days and that happens, but we’re still in a good position in the tournament so hopefully this is just a blip and we can move on.”
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