Kent v Essex: Darren Stevens to skipper side in first friendly of 2016

Kent have named a 12-man squad to face neighbours Essex in a two-day friendly match at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.

Skipper Sam Northeast sits out with a sore neck so all-rounder Darren Stevens leads the side which will include new signing Adam Rouse and Academy graduate Zak Crawley

Joe Denly and Alex Blake were unavailable with minor niggles sustained in pre-season training.

It is Kent’s first pre-season match before the Specsavers County Championship season starts on April 10.

Kent won the Mike Denness Challenge Shield contested between the two counties across all formats in 2015 after a comprehensive Championship win at Tunbridge Wells following a triumph in the NatWest T20 Blast at Canterbury.

Essex include England Test captain Alastair Cook and new signings Ashar Zaidi and Matt Dixon.

Entry to the match and parking is free of charge with play scheduled to start at 11am. Food and drink will be served in the Lime Tree Cafe.

Kent squad v Essex: 23 Daniel Bell-Drummond, 58 Sean Dickson, 30 Fabian Cowdrey, 24 Adam Ball, 16 Zak Crawley, 3 Darren Stevens (c), 12 Adam Rouse (wk), 25 Calum Haggett, 26 Matt Coles, 8 Mitch Claydon, 33 Adam Riley, 5 Ivan Thomas

Essex squad v Kent: 26. Alastair Cook, 32. Jaik Mickleburgh, 25. Ravi Bopara, 28. Dan Lawrence, 27. Ryan ten Doeschate (c), 99. Ashar Zaidi, 7. James Foster (wk), 67. Callum Taylor, 17. Graham Napier, 30. Matt Dixon, 44. Jamie Porter, 14. Aaron Beard