Match Preview: Northamptonshire vs. Kent
The Vitality Blast takes a momentary pause as Kent travel to Northamptonshire in a crucial LV= Insurance County Championship clash at The County Ground, Northampton.
Ten points separate bottom-placed Northants & the Spitfires – victory is needed by both sides to help their chances of securing Division One status for 2024.
Ben Compton has faced over 1,000 deliveries in the competition so far, & is Kent’s top run-scorer with 462. Joey Evison is averaging 38.55 with the bat with his 347 runs, with Jordan Cox & Jack Leaning on the cusp of passing the 300-run mark for the Championship season, too.
Wes Agar is currently Kent’s top wicket-taker in the Championship – his 16 wickets sit above 13 for Evison & 12 for Matt Quinn.
It’s the ‘War of the Wealds’ on Friday – Kent Spitfires welcome Sussex Sharks to Canterbury in Kent’s final home Group Stage match of the 2023 Vitality Blast:
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Live Match Centre
Northamptonshire vs. Kent will be live streamed & embedded into the Match Centre on the Kent Cricket website. Commentary will be synced to pictures coming via Northamptonshire CCC.
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Opposition Report
Northamptonshire have won one match in six & have a game in hand on Kent – with ten points the gap to make up to go above the Spitfires in the table.
Australian Sam Whiteman is NCCC’s top red-ball run-getter so far in 2023 – his 324 runs are at an average of 32.40. All-rounder Rob Keogh has 277 runs at 30.77, & opening bat Ricardo Vasconcelos has also passed the 200-run mark.
With the ball, Jack White has 19 Championship wickets this season – six Northamptonshire bowlers are averaging under 30.00 in their bowling figures, with Australia international seamer Chris Tremain having taken 13 wickets at 17.92. His overseas stint has now come to an end.
Team News
Kent Men’s Head Coach Matt Walker has named a squad of 13 to make the journey to the midlands.
Arafat Bhuiyan, Arshdeep Singh & Matt Quinn all feature after not being involved in recent T20s, with the look of Kent’s squad geared towards red-ball expertise – Ben Compton is in-line to continue to open the batting, & Harry Finch is included in the First XI squad after having impressed in the Second XI Championship.
After featuring heavily for Kent in the Vitality Blast, Michael Hogan & Grant Stewart have been rested, with one eye on Kent Spitfires’ crucial Friday night T20 against Sussex Sharks at Canterbury. Alex Blake is under a white-ball contract with the Club & is ineligible to play in the County Championship.
Kent Cricket can also confirm that Men’s Captain, Sam Billings, has decided to step down as captain in red-ball cricket for the rest of the 2023 season.
Jack Leaning, who captained Kent against Surrey last time out in the Championship, will captain the side in Sam’s absence.
Billings will continue to lead the side in the Vitality Blast and remains the Club Captain in Men’s cricket.
Kent’s Match Squad, presented by Black Opal Travel Group >>>
Kent’s Match Squad vs. Northamptonshire: Jack Leaning (Captain), Wes Agar, Arafat Bhuiyan, Arshdeep Singh, Daniel Bell-Drummond, Ben Compton, Jordan Cox, Joe Denly, Joey Evison, Harry Finch, Hamid Qadri, Tawanda Muyeye, Matt Quinn.
Weather forecast
Follow Kent Cricket on Twitter to receive live updates on prospects of play should there be any delays.
Friday night T20s are back!
Kent Spitfires’ final home T20 match of the South Group is against Sussex Sharks next Friday!
Buy your tickets now to avoid disappointment & lock in supporting your Spitfires now in an exciting Summer of white-ball cricket:
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Members do not need to pre-book their space at T20 matches as per last season – entry will be gained by scanning a valid 2023 Kent Cricket Membership card at the gate.
Match Previews of Kent’s LV= Insurance County Championship fixtures are proudly sponsored by FGS Plant Ltd. >>>
