Kent, England’s underground club, is led by former international player Adam Horooake, and there are concerns about the health of the players.
Published May 1, 2026
English cricket club Kent has suspended comments on its official social media accounts, with head coach Adam Holyoake suggesting the harsh criticism could be damaging to players’ mental health.
Kent have had a poor start to the season and are currently bottom of the County Championship in the second tier after three games.
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Their form led to vitriolic comments online from disgruntled Kent fans.
In a statement released before Kent’s latest match against Derbyshire, which started at Canterbury on Friday, Holyoake admitted his team’s performance was “far from the standard we would expect”.
But Mr Holyoake, who was a close friend of former Surrey and England team-mate Graham Thorpe, who took his own life in 2024, said he had a “duty of care” to protect the Kent team.
“It’s no secret that I’ve had to deal with a lot throughout my career in cricket, both as a player and as a coach,” Holyoake said. His younger brother Ben, also an England all-rounder, died in a car accident in 2002.
Holyoake was also close to former England batsman Robin Smith, who struggled with alcoholism until his death late last year.
“I have recently seen two players and friends I played with for England go down a bad path in terms of their mental health and I have lost them both,” the 54-year-old added.
“It’s part of my job and my duty of care to make sure this never happens again.
“As a professional cricket department, along with our media team, we have decided to suspend commenting on Kent Cricket’s official social media accounts for the time being.
“This is not a decision we have taken lightly and we are not going to stop people from having their say, but we feel it is necessary in line with our short-term strategy of allowing our players and staff to think and play freely and clearly.”
