Kent suspend comments on social media accounts to protect players’ wellbeing
The county have endured a poor start to the season and have faced some stinging critiques online
Kent have suspended comments on their official social media accounts, with head coach Adam Hollioake suggesting players’ mental health could be affected by excessive criticism.
The county have endured a poor start to the season, sitting bottom of Division Two in the Rothesay County Championship after three matches, and have faced some stinging critiques online.
In a statement released ahead of their latest game against Derbyshire, which began on Friday at Canterbury, Hollioake explained the club’s decision to close replies on updates from the match.
Hollioake, a close friend and team-mate of former England batter Graham Thorpe, who took his own life in 2024, said it was part of his responsibility to protect his side.
Having acknowledged that performances thus far had not been “anywhere near the standards we expect of ourselves”, he went on: “Throughout my career in cricket as a player and a coach, I have had to deal with a lot, that’s no secret. I’ve seen in recent times, two players and friends that I played alongside for England, go down a bad path in terms of mental health, and I’ve lost both of them.
“It’s part of my job, and my duty of care, to make sure that we don’t see that again.
“As a professional cricket department, alongside our media team, we’ve decided as one that we will be suspending commenting on our official Kent Cricket social media accounts for the time being.
“This has not been a decision that we’ve taken lightly and we are in no means stopping people voicing their opinions, but to align with our short-term strategy to allow players and staff to think and play with freedom and clarity, we feel it is a necessary one.
“The majority of our supporters are behind us and at times criticise us fairly, but when this crosses the line, this can be damaging to not only the players, but their friends, family and loved ones.”
Kent went on to share pictures of a member’s forum held at Canterbury during the lunch interval on the first afternoon against Derbyshire and invited fans to send any formal feedback to the club.