Kent name squad for season finale v Essex
Kent are keen to finish the season on a high as neighbours Essex visit The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on Tuesday (20 September, 10.30am start).
Although great strides have been made in four-day cricket, Kent just missed out on top spot with Essex the only side to have won matches in the entire Specsavers County Championship.
Chairman George Kennedy said: "It has been a season of great promise but ultimate frustration for everyone at Kent.
"The stark fact is, as we take on Essex in what could and perhaps should have been a winner-takes-all contest for promotion to Division One of the Specsavers County Championship, is that in any other year both of us would most likely have been promoted from the second division.
"We all knew this at the start of the season, of course, so there can be no complaints now but, at the same time, it is galling to miss out on what would ordinarily have been a promotion season.
"Since I became chairman in 2008 we have made giant strides both on and, perhaps even more so, off the field. We have a club now fit for purpose financially, and grounds here and at Beckenham that have been improved hugely.
"That refurbishment process goes on while, under Sam Northeast’s impressive captaincy, a predominantly young team continues to make strides."
Former Kent seamer David Masters is set to make his final appearance in county cricket for the visitors.
Gates open at 9.30am on all four days. On Tuesday, the ECB Outstanding Service to Cricket Awards and Alan Alberry Awards take place at lunch with Kent Cricket Academy and Disability Awards at tea.
After play on Wednesday, the Members' Forum takes place in the Chiesman Pavilion.
Essex are expected to be presented with the Mike Denness Challenge Shield and the Specsavers County Championship Division Two trophy.
Kent squad:17 Sam Northeast (c), 23 Daniel Bell-Drummond, 58 Sean Dickson, 6 Joe Denly, 7 Sam Billings, 3 Darren Stevens, 42 Will Gidman, 15 James Tredwell, 26 Matt Coles, 77 Hardus Viljoen, 8 Mitch Claydon, 11 Imran Qayyum, 22 Charlie Hartley.
Essex squad:Ryan ten Doeschate (27, c), Adam Wheater (31, w), Varun Chopra (6), Kishen Velani (8), Dave Masters (9), Nick Browne (10), Aaron Beard (14), Tom Westley (21), Paul Walter (22), Ravi Bopara (25), Dan Lawrence (28), Matt Dixon (30), Will Rhodes (-).
Kent v Essex stats:
· Essex have lost just one of their last nine matches against Kent (W4, D4).
· Essex will return to Division One for the first time since 2010 having secured promotion in the last round of games; since the divisional split they have never managed to stay in the top flight in back to back seasons.
· The retiring Graham Napier is the top wicket-taker in the division this season with 63, overall he has 69 in first class cricket this season, by far his most productive campaign since his debut in 1997.