Tredwell back to lead the side as Kent return to four-day action

Kent return to LV= County Championship action on the back of their morale boosting win over the Sussex Sharks at Hove on Wednesday night in the Friends Life t20. The team play Worcestershire in the LV= County Championship, at New Road, Worcester, starting Friday 2 August.

The team

Kent captain James Tredwell is back from injury to lead the side, Rob Key, Sam Northeast and Brendan Nash also return. The three experienced players were rested for the final few Friends Life t20 matches as the youngsters got their opportunity to impress.

The 13-man team is as follows: Tredwell (c), Key, Northeast, Bell-Drummond, Nash, Harmison, Stevens, Jones (w), Coles, Davies, Haggett, Claydon, Riley.

Pre-match chat:

Captain James Tredwell is delighted to be back from injury and is looking forward to returning to LV= County Championship cricket:

“It was nice to finish the Friends Life t20 on a bit of a high, with the victory at Hove. I thought we played well in the final five group matches. We gave a really good showing and, I felt, could have won all five of those games. It’s important that we carry on and keep the momentum as we ended the last spell of championship matches in good form too. We got the win at Cheltenham and then bossed the game against Hampshire – where, if we had maybe put them under a bit more pressure, we could have got another win.”

After a run of five Friends Life t20 matches, Kent are back into the longer formats of the game with three LV= County Championship matches and three Yorkshire Bank 40 fixtures to come throughout this month. Tredwell feels that switching from competition to competition is tough for all players.

“There’s no doubt that it is difficult for the lads. They didn’t get home until midnight on Wednesday night. Thursday was a travelling day and we then start on Friday morning. It means that we haven’t had much chance to work on our skills so we just need to switch the mental side of things and at least we have players coming back into the group who have had a bit of a rest. Playing the youngsters gave them a chance to recharge the batteries and I’m returning from injury too.”

Tredwell has been sidelined since suffering an ankle injury while fielding in the Friends Life t20 win against Hampshire Royals at Southampton on July 21.

“I’m a little bit stiff but I’m pretty much there now. I had a final run out on Thursday morning and got the chance to bat, bowl and field. The ankle is still not 100% and it will need to be strapped but it is certainly much better so I’m looking forward to getting out there.”

The season so far:

Kent return to LV= County Championship action on the back of an improved showing in the final five matches of the Friends Life t20 competition. After five straight defeats, Kent ended with three wins and two defeats to record six points from their ten matches. In between the Fl t20 action, Kent recorded a morale boosting win away at Gloucestershire in the LV= County Championship and then followed it up with a good showing against Hampshire, which ended in a draw. Going into this latest championship fixture, Kent have taken 81 points from their ten matches.

Previous meetings:

Kent’s last trip to New Road in Worcester ended in disappointing fashion as the match was abandoned without a ball being bowled. Overall, there have been 136 matches played between the two counties with Kent winning 63 times and Worcestershire recording 26 victories.

There have been 48 matches played in Worcester, between the two sides, with 20 wins for Kent and 11 successes for Worcestershire.

Click here for the history – Worcestershire v Kent at Worcester, provided by Martin Moseling