After a long and illustrious career with Kent, for whom he made his debut in 1992, he was released at the end of the 2008 season and was quickly signed by Essex. He scored 1000 Championship runs in a season on three occasions for Kent with a highest score of 275 not out.

He has proved an excellent capture for Essex and was leading runs scorer in our 2009 Championship campaign and our second highest contributor in the Friends Provident Trophy. Matt continued to provide solid batting performances the following accumulating nearly 800 runs and was deservedly awarded his county cap. He also recorded career-best bowling figures of 3-35 against his former colleagues at Canterbury in 2010 and signed an extended contract with the county later that year.

Matt was appointed Assistant Coach to Paul Grayson in December 2011 whilst also keeping on his player registration for the 2012 season.