LONDON: English cric­ket club Kent have suspended comments on their official social media accounts, with head coach Adam Hollioake suggesting players’ mental health could be damaged by stinging criticism.

Kent have made a bad start to the season and are currently at the foot of the second and bottom division of the County Champi­ons­hip following three matches.

Their form has led to some cutting online com­me­nts from frustrated Kent fans.

Hollioake, in a statement released ahead of Kent’s latest game against Derby­shire, which began at Cant­erbury on Friday, accepted the team’s performances had not been “anywhere near the standards we expect of ourselves”.

But Hollioake, 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 squad.

“Throughout my career in cricket as a player and a coach, I have had to deal with a lot, that’s no secret,” said Hollioake, whose younger brother Ben, also an England all-rounder, was killed in a car crash back in 2002.

Hollioake was also close to former England batsman Robin Smith, who struggled with alcoholism before his death late last year.

“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,” the 54-year-old added.

“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.”

Published in Dawn, May 2nd, 2026