Kent v Worcestershire

KENT will relish the chance to take on LV Championship Division 1 basement side Worcestershire in Canterbury to finally rid themselves of the frustration of the New Road flood fiasco.

Since early July, Kent's cricketers have borne the frustration of their three inactive days in Worcestershire, the subsequent stench of injustice and that of the effluent that swathed the outfield still remains fresh in their minds.

Weather and a decent St Lawrence pitch permitting, Kent know they have sufficient strength in depth to secure a crucial four-day win and those farcical days at New Road will only strengthen their resolve.

Kent coach Simon Willis said there is no animosity between the two sets of players, both squads were blameless in all that took place at New Road and since, but he confirmed it will be a game his players are looking forward to.

He said: "We just want to play as much cricket in this game as we can, we know that every ball we can bowl and bowl successfully is crucial in allowing us to finish as high up in the table as possible.

"The one thing we haven't had this year is a lot of time in the middle, be it down to the weather, the flood at Worcester, poor pitches, or whatever else, and we did wonder if luck was against us.

"It's been a stop-start season and we've not been able to get our momentum going as we would have liked, but that doesn't mean the guys haven't given 100 per cent when they have been out there.

"They are a proud bunch of lads, they've taken some knocks but they will bounce back from that as the season progresses of that I'm sure."

Sadly for Kent, Yasir Arafat will take no further part in their campaign having flown home for Pakistan's training camp ahead of the Twenty20 World Championships in September.

His place in the side will go to Simon Cook, who rested during Kent's game in Birmingham last week.

However, Sri Lankan Lasith Malinga will play - "the slinger" is scheduled to stay with the county until the end of their LV Championship clash with Lancashire.

Batsman Darren Stevens is struggling to shake off the groin strain he picked up against Durham, so Neil Dexter may continue to deputise.

The clash against Worcestershire is scheduled for an 11am start, but heavy overnight rain has made that unlikely.

Kent from: Key. Denly, van Jaarsveld, Walker, Dexter, Jones, McLaren, Tredwell, Cook, Saggers, Malinga, Dexter.