Match Preview: Essex Eagles v Kent Spitfires FLt20, Monday 8th July

Essex Eagles v Kent Spitfires

Friends Life t20 – South Division

Monday,8 July – 7.10pm start

County Ground, Chelmsford

The Kent Spitfires make the short journey to Chelmsford on Monday night to take on their old rivals, the Essex Eagles, as James Tredwell’s men go in search of their first win in this year’s Friends Life t20 South division.

The team:

The Kent squad heading to Chelmsford is the same squad that faced Middlesex at Uxbridge on Sunday afternoon:

Tredwell (c), Key, Northeast, Billings, Stevens, Blake, Harmison, Riley, Claydon, Coles, Philander, Jones, Cowdrey

Players to watch:

Left-hander Alex Blake will be looking to really kick-on after making his career best t20 score of 37 not out against Middlesex on Sunday. The 24 year-old has been limited to just a handful of Yorkshire Bank 40 and Friends Life t20 appearances this season but his improvisation adds another dimension to Kent’s middle-order.

Big hitter Owais Shah is an integral part of the Eagles batting unit. The former England batsman cracked 59 on Friday against the Spitfires and has amassed over 4,500 runs in this competition, making him a real threat in the shortest form of the game.

Pre-match chat:

Kent captain James Tredwell says he isn't fazed by the undoubted fervent atmosphere at Chelmsford:

"It depends how you view it. The Essex fans get right behind their team but I quite like playing there because it’s always a full house and the fans are right on top of you. It's a nice environment to play in and you don't get that every day of the week. We've had some tremendous support in our first three games (at Canterbury) so I hope that we will get another good atmosphere at Chelmsford and hopefully a win.

"They're a good one-day side so we need to get ourselves together and improve on our recent performances. After losing the reverse fixture at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, it will be nice if we can turn them over. If we do then it will be a special performance because they are a talented side."

The season so far:

Kent have suffered a disappointing start to their FLt20 qualifying campaign, losing all four games, with the latest reversal coming at Uxbridge on Sunday when Middlesex eased to a nine-wicket win in the sun. Blake (37*) and Darren Stevens (25) briefly threatened to help Kent build a powerful total but tight seam bowling from Toby Roland-Jones (2-19) and Kyle Mills (2-28) helped restrict the away side to 140 for six.

The Panthers then pushed through to victory with Adam Rossington punishing the Spitfires for a second time this season, blasting 74 from just 37 balls, to leave Kent rock bottom of the south division.

Essex need a win on Monday to put them back in the mix for a quarter-final place. James Foster’s men sit in fourth position, having won one game from three, and are five points behind early pace-setters Surrey.

Previous meetings:

The two counties met at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on Friday with the Eagles soaring to victory. Batting first, they posted 164 for six with Shah hitting six maximums on his way to 59. Kent lost Sam Northeast leg before to Graham Napier off the first ball of their reply and they never recovered. Rob Key made 26 – from thirty balls – but Napier and Reece Topley shared six wickets to seal a 47 run win for Essex.

Last season’s FLt20 meeting at Chelmsford produced a thriller with the hosts claiming a narrow three-run success. The Eagles batted first and were indebted to skipper Foster as they battled to 158 for six. The right-hander blasted 51 from 27 balls to take his team up to a competitive total.

Spitfires opener Sam Billings responded with his own half-century but he lacked support and a devastating spell from Greg Smith (5-17) ensured Essex secured the win – once Mark Davies was unable to hit the final ball of the match to the boundary.