KENT will hope to put Monday's disappointing seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Glamorgan behind them on Saturday when they return to National League action in Chelmsford.

It will be the first time in three seasons that Spitfires have taken on the Essex Eagles, who were promoted from Division 2 last term.

Acting captain Mark Ealham said: "To be fair, I didn't think the margin of defeat at Cardiff was as big as it appeared on paper. I didn't think we bowled that badly, but Robert Croft played well at the top of their innings and we couldn't create much pressure."

Despite injuries to David Fulton (eye), Min Patel (back) and Amjad Khan, who could be out for another fortnight with shin splints, there are no signs of Kent recruiting a second overseas player.

"It's a difficult one to call," added Ealham. "Rob Key could disappear with England and we have our other opening bat, David, out long-term. Then we're missing Amjad's pace and we'll have Min out for a while yet, so we're happy to wait until we know for sure what we need."

Meanwhile, Kent's former overseas star Carl Hooper has agreed to join Division 1 rivals Lancashire for five weeks as replacement for injured Indian spinner Harbhajan Singh.

Hooper, who played 142 matches for Kent between 1992 and 1998, is likely to make a popular return to St Lawrence for the championship clash starting on Friday, May 30.

During his three stints with Kent Hooper scored 6,714 first-class runs at an incredible average of 50.48 and also claimed 154 wickets.