Kent head coach Matthew Walker hails "master" Mohammad Nabi after unbeaten 43 in win over Surrey

Nabi hit two fours and five sixes in his match-winning knock but Walker believes his strengths with the ball as well make him a valuable player in the side

Kent head coach Matthew Walker praised Mohammad Nabi as a "master with the ball" after his side's nine-wicket victory over Surrey at The Oval.

It was with the bat that the Afghan did the majority of the damage, hitting an unbeaten 43 from just 12 deliveries to see undefeated Kent home with three overs to spare.

The result, which saw Kent remain top of the South Division and condemned Surrey to their third defeat in five T20 Blast games, would not have been so comfortable without the allrounder's power hitting, but Walker believes it is Nabi's ability with the ball as well which makes him such a valuable asset.

"I think he is a master with the ball. I think people will watch his hard hitting and enjoy that of course because that is the exciting bit of T20 cricket when the ball sails out the park, and he can do that, and that is why he is such a valuable player for us, because he has both strings to his bow.

"Players like that can win you T20 games in the space of two or three overs if they get going and that was very exciting for everyone to watch.

^{Walker praised Nabi for both of his skillsets}

"When dangerous players get going like that, and they find the middle of the bat a few times it is very hard to stop. We saw just a glimpse of what a world class player he is, and unstoppable in that sort of mood."

However, despite his matchwinning performance today, Walker believes that Nabi is just one of many players in the side who can pull the side over the line, singling out bowlers Adam Milne and Hardus Viljoen for particular praise.

"We have got matchwinners throughout this team, today it was Nabi, next week it might be someone else. 

"Our bowling attack at the moment has been extremely consistent. It helps when you have got pace, that is why we got Adam [Milne] back for a third year, we know what he can do and we rate him so highly, we think he is one of the best around in T20 at what he does.

"Hardus as well causes problems with his pace, no one likes facing it, and it is very difficult to play funky shots with pace above 90mph.

"Fred Klaassen stood up as well and has settled in really nicely. He will go under the radar a little bit because of Milne and Nabi, but he is doing some great work too. 

"We created 17 dots in that bowling display which is incredible in a seven-over game so the bowlers really did the work there."

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But while Walker admitted that the batting is not at the level it could be, he believes the number of matchwinners in the side has not exacerbated the issue.

"The batting I don't think has really clicked yet, tonight was a little different and Nabi played an absolute blinder, but we haven't quite clicked yet. 

"What is happening though is people are putting their hands up and putting match-winning performances.

"It is a long competition and although we have got off to a good start things can change if we are not careful, so we need to stay humble and keep our feet on the ground and do exactly the same thing that we have been doing since the start of the competition."

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