Kent Kings were unlucky to lose to National League champions Cradley Heathens in their opening home match of the season.

A big crowd at Central Park on Monday night saw depleted Kings put up a decent fight before losing 45-38 to a Cradley side who are strongly fancied to retain their title.

Ben Morley set the trend, showing lightning-fast reactions in the opening heat to roar away from Max Clegg, the first of four wins for the Kent captain who finished with a 12-point maximum.

Kings boss Chris Hunt felt his side would have won had Danny Ayres not been ruled out for the second week running with a broken hand.

Hunt said: "We showed great fighting spirit out there – I couldn’t have asked for more.

"It’s a shame that we’ve lost out now twice in narrow defeats which would’ve certainly been wins had Danny been fit to ride."

Ayres should be fit for Kent Kings' National League fixture at Rye House on Saturday.

If he comes through that, he'll feature when Kent host Mildenhall Fen Tigers in a National Trophy meeting at Central Park on Bank Holiday Monday (3pm).