Kent Women head coach David Hathrill hopes others can step up to the plate as his makeshift squad aim to retain their regional Women's County T20 title in Hampshire

Head coach David Hathrill hopes some of his makeshift Kent Women squad can step up as they aim to retain their regional Women’s County T20 title.

With the start of the regional Charlotte Edwards Cup around the corner, the Horses have had some selection issues and will be without several key players for their finals day today in Hampshire.

They qualified from Group 6 second and will play Hampshire in their semi-final before hoping to meet group winners Sussex or Surrey in the final at Totton and Eling Cricket Club.

He said: “It’ll be a test of the depth of the squad, let’s just say that!

“With the regional season around the corner and the new structure and the nature of the way women’s cricket is working now, we appreciate that we’ve got to manage players’ workloads. They need to be ready to go for the start of that competition so we are going to be missing probably seven or eight players that would normally feature for us.

“But it’s a great opportunity for these girls and we knew we had to deal with it at the start of the season and it’ll provide an opportunity for somebody, maybe for one of the younger girls, to come and write their name into Kent history.

“As much as it’s disappointing to be missing a few, it’s also fantastic for us because we can give other people an opportunity which is what we want to do.”

Last year, Kent Women won the South East T20 trophy and lifted the Women’s London Championship but had hoped to finish their T20 campaign in a double header at The Mote, Maidstone, before wet weather meant play was cancelled.

Hathrill commented: “I think, with the nature of the competition last year, our last game of the season was rained off so we finished as group winners but we didn’t get the chance to play in