Mitch Claydon: Durham seamer makes Kent loan move

Kent have signed Durham seamer Mitch Claydon on a one-month loan deal.

The 30-year old arrives with Kent eighth in Division Two of the County Championship and winless this season.

The team have fared much better in the YB40, however, and currently lie second in Group A.

Born in Australia but eligible to represent England, Claydon could stay at Canterbury beyond the initial month as the club have an option to extend the deal should they wish to do so.

Kent are in their third consecutive campaign in four-day cricket's second tier after being relegated by a mere six points in 2010.

Last season they just missed out on promotion, finishing third behind Derbyshire and Yorkshire although the top two were 24 points clear.

The recent draw with Hampshire saw Kent bat aggressively on the final day chasing 342 to win, eventually closing on 296-8.

"Given that we are at the bottom of the table, to realistically have a chance of promotion then we have to start doing these sort of things to chase wins," stand-in skipper Geraint Jones told BBC Radio Kent.

"We put in a fantastic effort as to lose early wickets, recover, go close to winning and then dig-in to make sure we didn't lose was brilliant."

Former England wicketkeeper Jones is currently leading Kent whilst James Tredwell, who replaced long-time captain Rob Key as skipper this winter, plays in the ICC Champions Trophy.

Off-spinner Tredwell is expected to return to Canterbury in July once the tournament has ended, and England have finished their T20 series with New Zealand.

"The plan to risk it and try to win was a group decision," Jones added.

"You can't make these sort of calls without the players' backing and we had that so it was a matter of setting targets collectively.

"It would have been easy to fold once we collapsed a bit [to 250-8] but the young lads Calum Haggett and Adam Riley showed great determination to get the draw.

"In the last three weeks we've got better and better and what's brilliant is that different characters are stepping up when we need them most."