Geraint Jones is not giving up on Kent Spitfires reaching the Friends Life T20 knockout stages but knows the task hasn’t be made any easier by two defeats in the space of three days.

They face South group leaders Sussex Sharks at Hove on Friday hoping to bounce back from Tuesday’s night’s 48 run reverse against Middlesex Panthers.

Vice captain Jones - leading the side in the place of Rob Key who was resting a neck problem - said: "The group is very tight, Sussex are top but not that far away, and with a little bit of improvement in all areas, I am still confident we can get to the quarter-finals."

He added: "It wasn’t our best bowling performance, more about execution than anything else, we didn’t get what we were trying to do right. I tried to vary things and angles, but it just didn’t happen.

"We were up against it after they got 80 off the first six overs, Adam Ball and James Tredwell slowed the rate, and had we kept them under 200 on that wicket, we would have been confident of getting them, even though it would have been a stiff challenge.

He added: "We didn’t get it right at the back end of the innings, not spot-on with our yorkers and it didn’t happen.

"Joe played very well, he is a quality player, Stirling took all the risks, and he just played normally. I didn’t see any inventive shots, he just punished the bad balls."

Sam Northeast made his first t20 half century, and Jones said: "He has been in good form all season, and has brought that form into the white ball game. His power-hitting against Hampshire last week was excellent."

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