by Glenn Pearson
Kent include skipper Rob Key and all-rounder Azhar Mahmood in their side for the visit of Essex in the LV=County Championship on Thursday.
Injuries to key players and England call-ups have robbed the county of putting out a full strength side for the majority of the campaign, but this week there was competition for places with the return of two key figures.
Key, who has been out for the last three weeks with a broken finger, felt no ill effects of a net at St Lawrence on Wednesday and announced he would be fit o return to lead the side against Essex.
Mahmood, the former Pakistan all-rounder, has been recalled to the side to give it some balance as Kent look to move out of the relegation zone in Division One.
With Key and Mahmood going straight into the side, two of Sam Northeast, Alex Blake or Matt Coles will miss out.
Head coach Paul Farbrace always felt Key had a genuine chance of playing and said, firmly tongue in cheek, how exciting it was to have a selection meeting as the side has picked itself for the last few weeks due to a succession of injuries.
“[Key] said if he got through Wednesday's batting session then he has a good chance of playing on Thursday and he is desperate to play,” he said. “We haven’t wanted to lose his leadership or batting skills, but him being out for a couple of weeks might have re-energised him for the last few weeks of the season.
“And, with Azhar coming into the side, that will give us a real boost in terms of not only his bowling quality, but his batting in the middle as well, so we could be quite well balanced.
“Probably for the first time in some weeks we actually had a decision to make about who to select and who to leave out. It’s quite exciting and a bit of a novelty really.”
Fast bowler Robbie Joseph again misses out after a recurrence of a shoulder strain, although Farbrace was hopeful of a return for the 28-year-old when Somerset arrive for Canterbury Cricket week on Tuesday.
With Kent second bottom of the division, they are in need of points to avoid relegation and face an Essex side that have settled into Division One cricket a little better than their rivals, sitting mid-table with just two defeats.
Kent from: Rob Key, Joe Denly, Geraint Jones, Martin van Jaarsveld, Sam Northeast, Darren Stevens, Azhar Mahmood, James Tredwell, Matt Coles, Malinga Bandara, Simon Cook, Amjad Khan, Alex Blake.
POSTED: 28/07/2010 12:17:49
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