Kent’s ability to bounce back from adverse results will be fully tested once again on Friday when they welcome Sussex Sharks to The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence for a Vitality Blast T20 local derby (7pm start).

The game comes four days after Kent’s 10-wicket Specsavers County Championship humbling at the hands of Leicestershire and exactly a week since Aaron Finch inspired Surrey to post 250 for six in last Friday’s rain-ruined Vitality Blast clash in Canterbury which was ultimately abandoned.

Though Kent remain top of the south group table with three wins from five starts, top-order batsman Sean Dickson says that Spitfires will need to show courage and ‘bouncebackability’ to stave off the Sharks come Friday night.

“It’s going to be tough game if I’m honest because they’re a very good T20 team with quality cricketers who have played this format all over the world, so we will need to be back at our best from ball one,” said the South Africa-born batsman.

“We’ve had some time to do our research on them and we know they have great players, as do we. But I think that, in T20 in particular, if you play the opposing players you immediately put yourself on the back foot. Whereas, if you play the situation and do what’s expected of you, then things are more likely to go your way.

“We back ourselves and have a good thing going in general this season. No one likes to lose a game of cricket in two days, especially during Canterbury Week, but come Friday we’ll be buzzing again.

“We’ll have rested and trained hard and, just because we lost to Leicestershire, doesn’t mean we should go dig a hole and bury ourselves in it. We will show up with a point to prove for sure.”

Dickson added: “We have shown already this season how we stick together. Cricket is a funny sport when it comes to winning and losing and results like this, to Leicestershire, you just want to forget and come out swinging harder next time out.”

Dickson’s sentiments were echoed by Spitfires’ head coach Matt Walker, who said: “We got what we deserved against Leicestershire but I’m putting it down to a blip rather than anything else and we won’t dwell on it.

“It was two days of poor cricket and when you bat that poorly over two days and weren’t at our best with the ball, you’re bound to come away second best.

“On the flip side, it will give us more chance to prepare for Sussex and maybe take a valuable day off, before coming back to show more intensity in our training and in all that we do out in the middle.”

Kent will be boosted for Friday by the return of New Zealand white-ball specialist Adam Milne, who missed the Leicestershire match after rolling an ankle at Beckenham. Seamer Calum Haggett and left-handed batsman Alex Blake will also be added to Spitfires’ squad.