Northamptonshire Steelbacks make the trip to Canterbury tomorrow to face Kent in the Metro Bank One Day Cup.
The Steelbacks got off to a winning start in the competition, beating Warwickshire by five wickets at the cinch County Ground on Tuesday.
Having bet set a target of 313, the Steelbacks chased in down with just more than an over to spare, thanks to scores from Nathan McSweeney (88), George Bartlett (72) and Ricardo Vasconcelos (64).
Tomorrow will be Kent’s first game in the competition and both sides have a nice mix of youth and experience in the ranks, something that should help make a great game between the two teams.
Both counties have lost players to The Hundred, with the Steelbacks losing seven players and Kent losing three.
Match information:
Gates are The St Lawrence Ground open at 10am tomorrow, with the first ball scheduled for 11am. The innings break is scheduled for 2:30pm, but that is dependent on the outcome of the first innings. The match is scheduled for 6:30pm.
The game will be live stream by the host county, but you can keep up to date with the live match updates by following our social media platforms.
Squad news:
It’s an unchanged squad from the win against Warwickshire.
Steelbacks squad to face Kent:
Nathan McSweeney (c), George Bartlett, Arush Buchake, Yuzi Chahal, Liam Guthrie, Rob Keogh, Shiv Krishna, Tiaan Louw, Lewis McManus (wk), Gus Miller, Luke Procter, Nirvan Ramesh, Aadi Sharma, Stuart van der Merwe, Ricardo Vasconcelos, Raphy Weatherall
Hear the thoughts of Captain Nathan McSweeney after the win against Warwickshire.
Opponent Preview:
Kent
Previewed by Fred Atkins – ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Daniel Bell-Drummond
2025 Position: 7th (Group B)
2025 Most Runs: Jaydn Denly (323)
2025 Most Wickets: Fred Klaassen (11)
Why they can win the competition: Youth and experience – four of the team that won the trophy in 2022: Ben Compton, Joey Evison, Harry Finch and Grant Stewart are available, alongside England Lions’ Ben Dawkins and Ekansh Singh, plus U19 international Jaydn Denly.
Player to watch: “Dawkins is going to be huge,” predicted Sam Billings last year and he made his first Kent century in the win at Northampton. Bats with power and patience and recently starred for England U19s v South Africa.
Young gun: Ekansh has broken through in all three formats in the last 12 months. A stylish, elegant middle order batter, his medium-pace is also a useful option as a first or second-change bowler.
Final thought: Kent have struggled to get the balance right between competing and developing in 50-over cricket since the 2022 win and last year’s team was too raw to seriously challenge, but they look a little more streetwise this time around.