Head coach David Hathrill hopes some of his makeshift Kent Women squad can step up as they aim to retain their regional Women’s County T20 title.

With the start of the regional Charlotte Edwards Cup around the corner, the Horses have had some selection issues and will be without several key players for their finals day today in Hampshire.

They qualified from Group 6 second and will play Hampshire in their semi-final before hoping to meet group winners Sussex or Surrey in the final at Totton and Eling Cricket Club.

He said: “It’ll be a test of the depth of the squad, let’s just say that!

“With the regional season around the corner and the new structure and the nature of the way women’s cricket is working now, we appreciate that we’ve got to manage players’ workloads. They need to be ready to go for the start of that competition so we are going to be missing probably seven or eight players that would normally feature for us.

“But it’s a great opportunity for these girls and we knew we had to deal with it at the start of the season and it’ll provide an opportunity for somebody, maybe for one of the younger girls, to come and write their name into Kent history.

“As much as it’s disappointing to be missing a few, it’s also fantastic for us because we can give other people an opportunity which is what we want to do.”

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Last year, Kent Women won the South East T20 trophy and lifted the Women’s London Championship but had hoped to finish their T20 campaign in a double header at The Mote, Maidstone, before wet weather meant play was cancelled.

Hathrill commented: “I think, with the nature of the competition last year, our last game of the season was rained off so we finished as group winners but we didn’t get the chance to play in a proper finals day.

“So I think it’s going to be a really good challenge for the group but, ultimately, it’ll be a good experience and one we are really looking forward to.”

Kent won both matches of a double-header against Surrey Women on April 24 but lost twice to Sussex on Monday, with captain Tammy Beaumont, Tash Farrant and Alice Davidson-Richards among those missing - none of whom will be available on finals day, either.

But the Horses will be able to call upon the captaincy of Grace Scrivens, who is currently the group’s fourth highest run-scorer with 146 runs in four innings at 36.75.

And Hathrill has been putting performances over results this year.

He explained: “Talking to the group at the start of the year, it was always about performances over wins because we knew - with the nature of the competition - we would have a good opportunity to get to finals day if we played our best cricket.

“So the best thing for us has been some really, really impressive performances - both individually and as a team. One of our top scores was in the mid-170s, batting first against Surrey, and we managed to restrict Hampshire to 80-odd and chased it in less than 10 overs.

“It’s the way we want to play our cricket.

“Results are brilliant but the performances have been absolutely outstanding at times, which has been really pleasing.”

Entry is free, with Kent's semi-final taking place at 1.30pm before a potential final at 4.30pm.

Kent's finals day squad: Scrivens (c), Carter, Gorham, Grant, Jelfs, Lockhart, MacDonald-Gay, Moore, Spence, Stonehouse, Streets, Sturge.