Kent Spitfires name 13-man squad to face Sussex Sharks in NatWest T20 Blast opener
Thursday 14th May 2015
Kent Spitfires have named a 13-man squad for the NatWest T20 Blast opener against Sussex Sharks on Friday night at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence (7pm start).
Fast bowler David Griffiths is included after recovering from a tricep strain and there are places for batsman Alex Blake and all-rounder Adam Ball.
Head coach Jimmy Adams said: “We played some good cricket in the NatWest T20 Blast and Royal London One-Day Cup last season and the lads are feeling confident in white-ball cricket.
“The players love the atmosphere at floodlit games so we hope Kent Members and Supporters turn out in force to support the lads with a good home crowd.”
Kent Spitfires squad: 17 Sam Northeast (c), 23 Daniel Bell-Drummond, 6 Joe Denly, 20 Sam Billings (w), 30 Fabian Cowdrey, 3 Darren Stevens, 10 Alex Blake, 26 Matt Coles, 25 Calum Haggett, 18 David Griffiths, 15 James Tredwell, 24 Adam Ball, 8 Mitch Claydon.
Sussex skipper Luke Wright is without four seamers including Tymal Mills and Ajmal Shahzad but will be able to select Sri Lankan batsman Mahela Jayawardene.
The Sharks skipper said: “On paper it’s a very strong squad. T20 is a game of small margins and a few times in the last couple of years we’ve been on the wrong side of the equation.
“But the more quality players you have the better your chances of winning and I am excited about our squad, not just the new guys but players like Yards, Nashy (Chris Nash) and Beero (Will Beer), who have got a lot of experience in T20 and the potential to win games for us.”
Sussex Sharks squad: 10 Luke Wright (c), 18 Will Beer, 26 Ben Brown (w), 12 Chris Cachopa, 6 Harry Finch, 27 Mahela Jayawardene, 11 Chris Liddle, 15 Matt Machan, 64 Steve Magoffin, 23 Chris Nash, 21 Steven Piolet, 25 Oliver Robinson, 20 Michael Yardy.
Kent Spitfires v Sussex Sharks
• James Tredwell needs two wickets to become the sixth player to take 100 wickets in English T20s.
• Six of the last seven T20s between these teams have been won by the team that batted first.
• Darren Stevens has hit 122 sixes in English T20s, 28 more than anyone else.
• Luke Wright (four) is one of four players to hit more than three centuries in all T20s. Chris Gayle (14), Brendon McCullum (six) and David Warner (five) are the others.
• In 17 Twenty20 games, Kent have won 10, Sussex 7.