ENGLAND’S NatWest Series loss to the West Indies on Tuesday will be Kent’s gain for their remainder of the county’s Twenty20 Cup campaign.

Both wicketkeeper Geraint Jones and opening batsman Rob Key could feature in Kent's last three qualifiers starting with Spitfires’ crucial sell-out clash with holders Surrey this evening.

All 7,000 tickets for the Brit Oval game have been sold for almost a month with capacity limited by extensive redevelopment work.

Though Key and Jones may well have preferred to be lining up against New Zealand in Saturday’s NatWest Series final at Lord’s, their return to club duty provides a timely boost for misfiring Spitfires.

England’s defeat, their fourth in six starts, was a bitter pill for Jones to swallow after some decent individual performances.

“To go from the Test matches, where we did so well, to struggling in the one-dayers has been a little disappointing to say the least,” said the Kent gloveman.

Overall Jones was reasonably pleased with his performances with both bat and gloves.

“I enjoyed batting three, though it did come as a bit of a surprise at first. The way I batted in our first NatWest match gave me a lot of confidence when I put on 80-odd for the fourth wicket with Andrew Strauss.

“My game is quite well suited to one-day cricket. It is just a matter of finding the balance of how to play it.”

As for Key, he will look to three disappointing dismissals and further missed opportunities at international level.

A top-score of 19 and an aggregate of 43 runs from his three starts will leave the England selectors with cause for thought and the Beckenham-born right-hander back at square one.

“It’s been pretty tough to be honest,” conceded Key. “That may sound a bit ridiculous, but it was hard work.

“Most of the wickets weren’t that good for one-day cricket, particularly when I got to bat on them.

“We came up against a few players with 200-odd one-day appearances behind them, whereas ‘Jonesy’ and I have a handful of caps between us. That makes a huge difference in terms of experience in handling pressure situations.”

Though the fastest to reach 1,000 first-class runs for the season, Key appeared out of sorts in the limited overs’ game but is looking forward to a return to Twenty20 action.

“There’s no doubt I’m better at the longer format of the game but I saw these one-day internationals as an opportunity to get involved again in the England set-up and perhaps follow the footsteps of Andy Strauss,” he added.

“Sure I’m disappointed that I’ve not done myself more justice, but now I have to come back to Kent, finish the season well and maybe get on a winter tour.

“I can’t see myself opening in Twenty20. That's best left to the likes of ‘Symo’ and Afridi, but perhaps I can hold the middle order together."

“There’s quite an element of luck involved in that style of cricket and you can change from hero to villain very quickly. But I’m looking forward to giving it my best shot and getting back to the normality of county cricket.”

Kent’s limited overs’ schedule for July: Friday, July 9 v Surrey Twenty20Cup, The Oval (5.30pm). Tuesday, July 13 v Sussex Twenty20Cup, Canterbury (5.30pm). Wednesday, July 14 v Sri Lanka A, Canterbury (11am), Thursday, July 15, v Hampshire Twenty20 Cup, The Rose Bowl (5.30pm). Monday, July 19 Twenty20 quarter-final (should Kent qualify). Tuesday, July 20 v Hampshire totesport League, Canterbury (Floodlight (4.10pm).