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Author Fred Atkins releases The Spitfire Diaries, a book charting Kent County Cricket Club's successful season

The Spitfire Diaries, a book on Kent County Cricket Club’s memorable 2021 season, is now available.

Written by Fred Atkins of the ECB Reporters Network and Wisden, The Spitfire Diaries is a day-by-day account of a year that saw Kent finally win a trophy for the first time since 2007, after a season that crammed more drama into six months than you’d usually see in a decade.

Kent Spitfires celebrate Vitality Blast success at Edgbaston Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire/PA Images
Kent Spitfires celebrate Vitality Blast success at Edgbaston Picture: Mike Egerton/PA Wire/PA Images

After two demoralising months without a win, in frozen, empty stadiums, Kent emerged from lockdown with an outstanding Twenty20 side, galvanised by a recall for 45-year-old all-rounder Darren Stevens, only for their entire first team to be forced into isolation after a Covid outbreak on the eve of The Canterbury Festival.

Further hobbled by The Hundred, a competition reviled by the fan base, the team regrouped and produced a stunning season finale to win both the Vitality Blast Trophy and Division 3 of the LV= Insurance County Championship.

Featuring interviews with all the major players, including Matt Walker, Sam Billings, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Zak Crawley, Darren Stevens and Paul Downton, The Spitfire Diaries tells the story of a game as it emerges from the shellshock of a global pandemic and a group of cricketers determined to emerge from the shadows of history and make their own.

‍The Spitfire Diaries is available on Amazon, priced £11.99.

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