Kent Spitfires have named an unchanged 12-man squad for their NatWest T20 Blast fixture against Gloucestershire at Canterbury on Friday night.
Having kicked off their campaign in the shortest format of the game with a superb 42-run win at Somerset last Friday night, it is no surprise to see Head Coach Jimmy Adams keep faith in the same squad.
That means that Alex Blake is once again included and is likely to start, while Kent fans will be interested to see what order the batsmen come out in, with Daniel Bell-Drummond and Rob Key opening against Somerset, and Darren Stevens coming in at three; all of whom made excellent contributions to the victory.
Speaking about the squad he had selected for the game, Jimmy Adams said: “It was a great performance at Taunton to beat Somerset, and we are keen to maintain the momentum, so I saw no reason to change the squad.”
Wicket-keeper Geraint Jones, currently on a four-week loan at Gloucestershire from Kent, will not be eligible to play in the match.
The pre-match omens are good for Kent, who have beaten their opponents in all five of the completed T20 matches in which they have met. Last time the Spitfires and Gloucestershire came together, at Beckenham in 2011, Wahab Riaz took 5-17 in three overs, and Azhar Mahmood struck a fantastic, unbeaten 106 to help Kent chase down the visitors’ total of 166.
Kent Cricket CEO Jamie Clifford was also delighted with the performance the team had put in to beat Somerset – one of the most revered T20 sides in the country.
“It was spectacular, really!”, he told KSN.
“My only disappointment was I wasn’t there! We had the Varsity match at Canterbury, so I was at that, but we were all following it, so it was very, very exciting!
“It bodes well; clearly the squad are very keen on playing some highly attacking T20 cricket, which comes with risks, but should make for some very exciting cricket. I’m looking forward to getting back to Canterbury and hopefully our home crowd getting to see live the style of performance they put on at Taunton.
“The forecast [for Friday] is very good, and a lot of people have seen the way in which we attacked that opening game, and will hope to come and see much of the same.”
Gates at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence open at 5pm, with the match beginning at 7pm.
Kent squad to face Gloucestershire: Key*, Bell-Drummond, Northeast, Nash, Stevens, Blake, Billings†, Ball, Claydon, Riley, Bollinger, Griffiths
Gloucestershire squad to face Kent: TBA