Kent Spitfires aim to make home advantage count on and off the field when they face Durham Dynamos in the quarter-finals of the Twenty20 Cup at Canterbury on Monday.

They will be cheered on by a big crowd in the first match at St Lawrence for nearly two months and cricket director Graham Ford believes that could be a key factor as the Spitfires bid to reach finals day for the third successive year.

He said: "Being drawn at home has done us a favour, with Durham having to make the long journey. Ticket sales have been doing very well, and our supporters do make a difference in Twenty20 cricket, and really help fire the boys up."

It’s the first meeting between the two teams in the competition with the Dynamos aiming to go one better than last year, losing by eight wickets against Kent’s conquerors Middlesex Crusaders in the semi-finals at The Rose Bowl in Southampton.

They qualified as runners-up behind Lancashire in the North Group, recovering from a poor start, losing four of their first six games, before beating Leicestershire at Grace Road in their final match, to pip the East Midlands outfit to a place in the last eight.

Ford added: "They are a high quality outfit with really good players, but it’s a must-win one-off occasion."

Monday’s game is being screened live by Sky TV and starts at 5.40pm.

One player ruled out is Robbie Joseph, who was injured attempting a diving stop in the Twenty20 win at Surrey last month.