Kent Spitfires vs Sussex Sharks | Doubleheader

Canterbury is the destination for both our Men's and Women's sides on Bank Holiday Monday as they take on Kent Spitfires in a Vitality Blast Doubleheader.

It was a mixed start for our Men and Women in Friday's Vitality Blast opener at Essex and Derbyshire respectively, with the former getting off to a scorching start at a sun-kissed Chelmsford. It was the perfect start to Paul Farbrace's side - a victory that saw the Sharks chase down the target of 192 with four overs to spare. 

It was a fine showing with the bat, chiefly through James Coles and John Simpson, who both recorded half-centuries. Simpson's explosive total of 63 (23) featured a remarkable eight sixes, as the Sharks wiped away the two-point deduction at the earliest possibility.

Hours before this, it was Alexia Walker's Sharks Blast opener up in Derby. A tight affair, Sussex's struggles began early into the match having been reduced to 15-3 after 3.1 overs, yet Mollie Adams and Eve O'Neill fought hard to produce a competitive total of 114-8.

It wasn't to be enough, though, as the host's strong start saw the foundations laid for a win with five balls to spare. But it's swiftly onto Kent to see if they can put things right and earn that first win of the campaign.

Team News

Paul Farbrace has named a 15-player squad for the trip to Canterbury, with Oli Carter the lone addition to Friday's squad.

Men's Squad: Alsop, Briggs, Carson, Carter, Clark, Coles, Crocombe, Currie, Hudson-Prentice, Hughes, Lamb, Leaning, Mills (c), Simpson (wk), Ward

Meanwhile, Alexia Walker has picked a 13-player squad for her team's respective fixture at St Lawrence Ground, with Sophie Beck coming in for Anna Buckle, who suffered a dislocated thumb in the previous outing at Derbyshire

Women's Squad: Adams (wk), Beck, Clarke, Collis, Docherty, Gentry, Green (c), Johnson, Lewis, Mullins, O'Neill, Patil, Wilkinson

The Opposition | Kent Spitfires

It was an equally impressive start for the Spitfires on Friday at Lord's, who also recorded victory on the opening day of the tournament. Sam Billings batted beautifully, blasting 84 runs off a mere 37 deliveries to help hand Kent a total of 208-6 from their 20 overs. And they bowled well enough to seal a comfortable 27-run win in the end, with overseas quick Tom Rogers picking up four wickets.

South African all-rounder Dian Forrester travelled to the UK as soon as Chennai Super Kings’ involvement in the IPL finished this past Thursday, and will be pushing for a first appearance having been a spectator at Lord's. He is added to an an otherwise unchanged squad from the one that defeated Middlesex last time out, with loanee Jake Lintott debuting on Friday, and claiming two wickets.

Former Sussex off-spinning all-rounder, Bertie Foreman, signed a two-month contract with Kent that runs until the end of the Vitality Blast, and is included in Adam Hollioake's 15-player squad.

Kent Women

For Kent Women, their opening fixture - also at Lord's as part of a doubleheader - didn't quite harvest the same outcome as the Men's team, as they suffered a 106-run defeat to Middlesex having been bowled out for just 54 as they chased a target of 161. 

Sussex have already faced Kent this season in the Metro Bank One Day Cup, losing by a six wicket margin following a sensational innings from opener Coco Streets (104*). Kent finished fourth in last year's Vitality Blast Women League Two, finishing eight points behind the Sharks as they similarly seek a first win in the competition this year on Bank Holiday Monday.

Previous Encounters

Last year produced further excitement to a T20 fixture that seemingly always provides entertainment. 

Danny Lamb took a magnificent five-wicket haul in last year's win at Canterbury, before Kent's Joey Evison produced a game-winning 48* (24) in the return fixture to severely dent Sussex's chances of qualification. In the end, that defeat proved pivotal as the Spitfires sneaked through on the final day after Sharks' defeat at home to Surrey.

The two sides have met in the Blast on 38 occasions, with Kent winning 18 of those matches, one ahead of Sussex's 17 victories. The Sharks have had the upper hand in recent years, with Kent's win at Hove last year putting a stop a four-game win streak for Sussex.

There have been two no results, and one tie.

How to Watch

As always, you can watch every ball, free of charge, via our Match Day Centre. You will need to register for a free account to access the stream, statistics, replays and live scorecard. 

The women's match gets underway tomorrow at 10.30am, with the men's match commencing in the afternoon, at 3,30pm. 

Tickets

Tickets for this Bank Holiday Monday Doubleheader can be purchased here.