Matt Walker believes Kent’s match against Pakistan comes at the perfect time for his squad.

They host the touring side for a four-day match at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence beginning on Saturday.

With the season still in its infancy it will be a good chance for the Kent players to get some much needed game time.

Head coach Walker said: “There’s still opportunity for players to have time in the middle. We have missed that and it’s an opportunity for players to play against an international team and showcase their skills.

“I’ve always thought the tourist games are important. If you do well it’s amazing how it catches the eye of certain people. We will probably rest a couple of people but it’s a good opportunity for some guys to get a knock and some overs under their belts.

“I think we are very lucky to have tourist games. It’s a privilege to host Pakistan for their first game and you want to respect that for sure.”

Wicketkeeper-batsman Sarfraz Ahmed leads a 16-man Pakistan squad who start their tour at Canterbury before playing two Test matches against England later in the summer.

Kent lost their opening Specsavers County Championship Division 2 match of the season at home to Gloucestershire before enjoying a nine-wicket win at Durham last week.

Listen to a preview of the Pakistan game in our Kent Cricket Podcast below:

Walker said: “Sometimes when those fixtures fall later on in the season they can be quite tricky to manage as you know you have weary bodies and people do need a bit of time off.

“It comes at a very good time as it’s still not easy on these wickets. The games can be a little bit of a lottery and you are missing the third week of the championship season, when there could be a bit more weather around, which can’t be a terrible thing.

“There’s not much better practice you can have than out in the middle. Nets are brilliant but when you are playing against high quality opposition it will be good to get time in the middle.”

Tickets on sale for this match on the Kent Cricket website, entry included in Championship Plus and All Rounder Memberships.