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Kent Cricket spinner Adam Riley says Spitfires form is exciting and they have nothing to fear in NatWest T20 Blast South Group

Adam Riley says Kent fans should be excited by their T20 chances and the ‘brand of cricket’ they are currently playing.

The Spitfires will seek to make it three wins from three games in NatWest T20 Blast when they visit South Group leaders Hampshire on Thursday (6.30pm) before taking on the rock-bottom Middlesex Panthers at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on Friday (7pm).

The 22-year-old spinner stole the headlines yet again with a career-best 4-22 in Friday night’s win over Gloucestershire at Canterbury, which left Kent as the only unbeaten T20 side in the country.

It took Riley to 30 competitive wickets in all competitions so far this season and led to speculation in some quarters that he could be soon be on England’s radar.

Riley said: “Confidence is a massive thing in T20 and momentum is too. We have won two out of two - two convincing victories in my opinion - and if we can take that into our next game there’s no reason why we should fear the opposition when we’re playing the brand of cricket we are playing.”

Adam Riley is congratulated by Rob Key. Picture: Barry Goodwin.
Adam Riley is congratulated by Rob Key. Picture: Barry Goodwin.

The Spitfires had lost their first five games in last year’s competition but travelled to Southampton on July 21 with a youthful squad and came away with a fine eight-run win.

Riley - who took 1-21 that day - said: “We can draw on what we did last year down there. Everyone wrote us off but we managed to get a win down there with quite a young side.

“We know we can beat good T20 sides. That game showed it and look at Somerset two weeks ago, everyone would have been writing us off again and we won quite comfortably there.”

He added: “We have no fear, and we have confidence in the whole team performing. At Somerset the top-three did the bulk of the work, against Gloucestershire Alex Blake came in at five and gave us that knock that ultimately got us over the line.

“With guys performing all down the order with the bat and the ball, it’s exciting for Kent at the moment in this format.”

Riley claimed the priceless scalps of Michael Klinger and Hamish Marshall against Gloucestershire and he admitted: “It’s always pleasing to take wickets. I said to the boys I don’t think I’ve ever taken more than two wickets in any sort of one-day game.

“Every game I play I’m trying to do the best I can for Kent and do whatever job is required of me, and if I pick up some wickets along the way and help Kent to win then so be it.

"That’s the plan - I’m just trying to stay in the side at the moment.”

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