Mitch Claydon says he hopes he can continue the momentum from his first Kent five-wicket haul into the opening Friend’s Life t20 clash of the South Division campaign against Middlesex on Friday night.

The Aussie-born paceman recorded figures of 5-31 from his four overs as the Spitfires suffered a 42-run defeat to the touring New Zealanders at the Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on Saturday night - just his second t20 fivefer in 67 games.

The on-loan Durham man said: “It was always going to be a tough game against quality opposition, we’ve got a young squad but I think the lads can take a lot out of it.

“Hopefully we can all take a bit of momentum moving into Friday.”

He revealed the secret of his success was: “You’ve got to back your plan. It’s not going to work every time, you’re going to travel round the park at times, but you have to stick with it and believe in what you’re doing. Saturday was my night and hopefully that continues in the games coming up.”

The 30-year-old said he’d been impressed by Kent’s young talent since arriving from the Riverside and added: “We put out a pretty young side on Saturday but I think we were quite competitive.

“They got a solid total but it’s a young squad and if we take something out of it and move towards Middlesex on Friday we’ll be alright.

“There are some very good players here. With t20 sides you need youth together with a little bit of experience. We have Rob Key, Mark Davies, Brendan Nash, a few other lads to come back. With them and a few young lads I think we’ll go pretty well.”

He added: “T20 is all about momentum. I think we can take a lot away from that win against Sussex. If we can build on that and get the snowball rolling, win a couple of games, all of a sudden the confidence goes through the roof, you win a couple of games you probably shouldn’t and you believe you can win.

“I think there are a lot of positives for Kent from the last week’s cricket. There are some good sides out there in the south group but I’m thoroughly looking forward to it.”