Surrey head to their oldest rivals on Friday night for a huge Vitality Blast encounter at Kent Spitfires
Ollie Pope’s side will look to make it two wins from two to sure up their hopes for qualifying for the quarter-finals stage of the Men’s Vitality Blast.
Surrey sit second in the South Group on 24 points with two matches remaining.
HOW CAN I KEEP UP WITH PLAY?
The match gets underway at 6:30pm and will be broadcast live on Kent’s YouTube channel. Regular clips and updates will be posted on Surrey’s social media channels throughout, with highlights and a report available at the end of the match.
SURREY SQUAD
Matt Fisher comes into the squad for Gus Atkinson, who joins up with the England squad ahead of the ODI series. Atkinson took two wickets for the Second XI in a 50 over friendly victory against Hampshire on Thursday.
Jamie Smith is unavailable due to a finger injury sustained while playing for England.
KENT SPITFIRES
Kent sit fourth in the table, having won four and losing six of their matches. The Spitfires beat Surrey at the Kia Oval earlier in the competition.
Previewed by Fred Atkins, ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
Captain: Sam Billings
Overseas players: Tom Rogers (Australia, all) Keith Dudgeon (South Africa, all). Dian Forrester (South Africa – when commitments with A tour permit)
Finals Day appearances: Four (2007, 2008, 2009, 2021)
Titles: Two (2007, 2021)
2025 finish: Quarter-finalist
2025 leading run-scorer: Tawanda Muyeye (516)
2025 leading wicket-taker: Fred Klaassen (15)
Key winter moves: There was genuine excitement when Kent swooped for both Jake Lintott, on loan from Warwickshire, and Forrester; while Bertie Foreman joins from Buckinghamshire. Jack Leaning has gone to Sussex and Nathan Gilchrist to Warwickshire, but the side that reached the last eight in 2025 is otherwise intact. Holding on to Muyeye was a very smart bit of business.
The big question: Will the new format might work in Kent’s favour? It should make their path to the quarter-finals significantly easier as they no longer have to play the most recent champions, Somerset and Gloucestershire, home and away, but still get to play their local rivals. Travelling distances have been slashed, significantly enhancing player welfare.
Wildcard watch: Coach Adam Hollioake believes Chris Benjamin has the potential to be one of the world’s most destructive batters. His 2025 campaign was ruined when he dislocated his shoulder grounding his bat at Lord’s, but his red-ball form this year has been outstanding and with Billings keeping wicket he’ll be able to concentrate purely on his batting.
Final thought: The St. Lawrence remains one of the great places to watch T20 cricket, but since winning the Blast in 2021, Kent have oscillated wildly. Off the pace in 2022 and 2024 they were unlucky not to go further in 2023 and 2025: Billings put last year’s quarter-final exit in a low-scoring affair at Emirates Old Trafford down to their failure to get Liam Livingstone out. Signing Lintott, Forrester and Foreman, all in the space of 24 hours, feels like a statement of intent.
