Sussex v Kent

KENT have named a 12-man squad for their Liverpool Victoria Championship clash with Sussex starting in Hove on Thursday.

After the frenzy of Twenty20 cricket, Rob Key’s side must come down to earth and consolidate their Division 1 mid-table berth with a convincing display on the south coast.

Overseas replacements Dwayne Bravo and Tyron Henderson – who come in for Andrew Hall and Justin Kemp – will bolster Kent’s seam attack on their championship debuts, leaving skipper Rob Key to decide whether to play two spinners at the expense of a front line batsman.

Sussex, who lie second in the table some 34 points ahead of Kent in fourth, will await a late fitness test on their influential leg-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed with a strained neck.

The Pakistan all-rounder has yet to miss a championship match for the county since joining Sussex in 2003 and is rated with a 70 per cent chance of playing.

Meanwhile, Bravo limbered up for his championship bow by playing for Kent second string in their 2nd XI Trophy tie with Hampshire in Canterbury on Wednesday.

Though he beat the bat on several occasions his nine-over stint proved wicket-less, costing 66 runs and included four wides.

He did, however, take a stunning, diving catch at mid-wicket to account for Hampshire opener Michael Brown, but only after the right-hander had scored 144 in Hampshire’s 50-over total of 356 for four.

Kent from: Key, Fulton, van Jaarsveld, Stevens, Dexter, Walker, Henderson, Bravo, Tredwell, O’Brien, Patel, Khan.

Sussex from: Montgomerie, Hopkinson, Yardy, Goodwin, Adams, Prior, Martin-Jenkins, Arafat, Mushtaq, Lewry, Kirtley, Wright.