Paul Farbrace has praised the Kent squad for their determination and character in the face of a punishing schedule and says playing Twenty20 matches back-to-back is "nonsense."

The Spitfires, beaten in the last over by Sussex Sharks at Tunbridge Wells last night, face Middlesex Panthers at Canterbury on Friday before taking on Gloucestershire Gladiators at Gloucester on Sunday.

However, team director Farbrace says a day off between games is a far better prospect than what Kent faced last week, with trips to Essex Eagles and Hampshire Royals on successive nights, followed immediately by a four-day championship match against leaders Nottinghamshire.

Farbrace, pictured, said: "Days off between matches allow players time to relax, prepare and focus for the next game.

"It gives them a chance to watch videos of their innings, analyse their game and work on technique.

"We got back to Canterbury from Chelmsford at around midnight on Wednesday, had an horrendous journey to Southampton on Thursday afternoon and didn’t arrive at the hotel in Tunbridge Wells until around one in the morning.

"I went to bed still buzzing from the game, thinking about why and how we lost and it was a strange feeling waking up the following morning facing a Championship match against Notts.

"Inevitably we lost the toss, found ourselves in the field with them at 150-1. The guts and the character the boys showed was impressive in the circumstances and they deserved their day off on Tuesday."

He added: "Playing back-to-back Twenty20 games is absolutely nonsense and is a really punishing schedule in international or county cricket.

""If one team has played the night before, it’s just not an even contest and grossly unfair."