Kent name squad to face Sussex in FLt20 opener at St Lawrence Ground

Kent have named a 14 man squad ahead of their Friends Life t20 opener against Sussex Sharks at the St Lawrence Ground tonight.

This match was due to be played at The Nevill but has been moved to the St Lawrence Ground following flash flooding in Tunbridge Wells. The match will now be played under floodlights at Canterbury, with a revised start time of 7pm, allowing sufficient time for supporters to travel to Canterbury.

Click here for further information on this fixture change, including what you can do if you have tickets for this match but are unable to travel to Canterbury.

Rob Key’s team face a challenging FLt20 opener against Sussex Sharks tonight. But with overseas player, West Indian batsman Brendan Nash in the their ranks and the return of Pakistani star Azhar Mahmood from IPL action Kent have named a strong squad.

Azhar, who impressed playing for the Kings Punjab XI last month, is an integral member of the Spitfires limited-overs team. Last season the all-rounder, promoted to number three in the batting order, plundered 485 runs at an average 40.41, a haul that included his maiden t20 ton off 57 balls against Gloucestershire at Beckenham. Add 14 wickets into the mix and it shows he is still a world-class performer at this level.

Last season Darren Stevens became the most prolific run-scorer in domestic t20 cricket, and with his dangerous medium-pacers he remains one of the most valuable t20 assets on the county circuit. Slower bowlers James Tredwell and Adam Ball look set to continue their containment roles in the middle overs – as they did to great effect last season.

Quick bowler Matt Coles will look to continue his development as the Spitfires strike bowler after a superb start to the season, and young batsmen Sam Billings could add some youthful exuberance, and big hitting, to the Kent batting line-up.

The side looks balanced, as Head Coach Jimmy Adams aims to take theSpitfires one step further than last season when the St Lawrence outfit suffered a heart-breaking quarter-final defeat against eventual tournament winners Leicestershire Foxes at Grace Road.

This is a crucial opener for Kent Spitfires, not to be missed– click here if you would like to purchase tickets for this evening's match – Adults £20 andJuniors £5. The Club will also honour these prices at the gates this evening.

Click here for the full Match Preview

Click here for the latest pictures from the ground(webcam)

The full Kent Spitfires squad to face Sussex Sharks tonight at the St Lawrence Ground will be:

Rob Key

Sam Billings

Azhar Mahmood

Darren Stevens

Brendan Nash

Sam Northeast

Ben Harmison

Geraint Jones

James Tredwell

Matt Coles

Simon Cook

Adam Ball

Mark Davies

Fabian Cowdrey

Photo Sarah Ansell SarahCanterbury.com