KENT supporters joked the The Nevill in Tunbridge Wells may be renamed Newlands or Centurion Park as South African’s Andrew Hall and Justin Kemp shared home debuts for the county.

The Proteas all-rounders joined their former international team-mate Martin van Jaarsveld in the side against Surrey and unsurprisingly felt right at home in a county side led by former South African Test coach Graham Ford.

Kent opted to rest pace bowler Amjad Khan to enable Kemp, signed on Monday, to make his debut as the hosts looked to build on their emphatic win over Nottinghamshire.

Both Kemp, a six feet five inch 28-year-old from Cape Province, and 29-year-old Hall from Johannesburg, travelled from the Caribbean directly to the Royal Spa town and both appeared eager to impress and make an impact for the remainder of the summer.

Kemp said: "Late last year I held some initial talks with Nottinghamshire about coming over here as a Kolpak player, but that all changed when I got picked for South Africa against England.

"Then as soon as Kent came in for me during the tour of the West Indies there really was no doubt in my mind.

"I spoke to Daryll Cullinan and he said I must jump at the chance and although I’ve only been here two days the set up looks great and I feel I’ve fitted in well.

"It helps that I know a lot about Graham Ford too, he gave me my chance in Test cricket, so I know we’ll get on and the West Indies went pretty well for me so I come here feeling pretty confident.

"That said, I haven’t bowled with a red ball or put on white pads for over three months having coming from Pro20 and one-day internationals so I may take a few days to re-adjust but I’m hopeful I’ll settle quickly."

Though Kemp appears a settled member of the South African side now, his new club-mate Hall is more uncertain of his international future and will hope his performances this summer for Kent will force a selectorial re-think.

Hall impressed with a four-wicket return on his victorious Kent bow at Trent Bridge, but he concedes it was a mixed debut after bagging a pair in the same game.

"I hadn’t batted in a game for best part of two months so in some ways the pair is just one of those things, I was too keen to get the feel of bat on ball again," said Hall.

"Looking back it was an extravagant shot and it’ll probably help me in the long run to calm down and get down to some hard work in the nets.

"I was much happier with my bowling, that seemed to go well, and it’s one thing I said I wanted to do from the start by giving our attack some edge.

"I kept the pressure up on their batsmen and we were all happy to get a win under our belts."

Hall added: "All the guys in the dressing room are easy going and I’ve felt very relaxed from the moment I arrived.

"It’s a nice feeling when you arrive at a new club to feel that everyone’s relaxed and happy to have you here.

"Obviously the West Indies tour was a very frustrating time for me as I only played the first Test and then the last two ODIs.

"I didn’t get the run I was hoping for, I played the first Test on a real low and slow pitch where even Makhaya Nntini struggled, so I would have liked the selectors to give us a longer run and say they were backing us.

"I had a chat to the selectors, but there are only 11 places available, so by coming here to Kent I know I will enjoy some regular cricket and I’d hope to perform strongly here and catch the eye with some match winning displays."