Kent to develop Beckenham ground

Kent County Cricket Club today announced that it is to name the former Lloyds/TSB sportsground in Beckenham:

"The Kent County Cricket Ground, Beckenham".

The Club also announced the appointment of Stuart Whitehead as Cricket Manager at the ground. Commenting on these developments, Paul Millman, Kent's Chief Executive, said: "We have been working on the development of the Beckenham site for nearly two years. We now have a long term partnership in place with the owners of the ground, Leander Sports and Leisure, and can begin to develop the ground into a centre for sporting excellence.

"We are delighted that Stuart Whitehead has agreed to join us to manage and develop the activities at the ground. Stuart has an outstanding cricket background. He is currently Chairman of the Club Cricket Conference and Secretary of the Kent Cricket League and has had a life long involvement in Kent cricket. He has been a member of Hayes (Kent) Cricket Club since 1957 and has been President of the Club since 1992."

Stuart Whitehead added: "I am delighted to be getting involved at the start of this exciting project. The new County Ground offers massive potential for the development of future Kent cricketers. Our partnership with Leander Sports and Leisure involves the building of a new pavilion. Work on this has started and I look forward to building up a busy programme of sporting activity on the ground this summer."

The first match of the new season at Beckenham will be played on Saturday 20 April, when the First XI of the Barbados Overseas Cricket Association will take on the Association's Second XI. This will be followed on Sunday by BOCA v Mayfield CC.