SURREY V KENT at the Kia Oval (LVCC2), 13-16 JULY 2015

Second plays host to eighth in Division Two of the County Championship. With Kent having done the double over Surrey last summer, what sweet revenge it would be if the Oval outfit could return the dose after winning the first clash between these two sides, at Beckenham at the end of May.

The heartening news, from the hosts' perspective, is Rob Key - who averages 52.73 in first-class cricket at the Oval and 62.41 against Surrey - will not feature. The bad news is that rain is on the way.

It must be a concern for Kent that only Sam Northeast (719 championship runs at an average of 44.93) and Joe Denly (606 at 37.87) are currently averaging over thirty with the bat. But those who recall the corresponding fixture last year, at Guildford, will be aware that keeper-batsman Sam Billings, who made 82 not out and 57 not out on that occasion, is more than capable of having a say.

Kent's bowling, whilst reliable, is dependent on seamers Matt Coles (52 wickets at 20.84 runs apiece) and the evergreen Darren Stevens (41 at 19.56). As we enter the second half of the season, it will be interesting to see whether Stevens, in particular, can continue coping with such a heavy workload, especially with Ivan Thomas likely to miss this game after picking up a side strain. Here's an amazing stat for you - Darren Stevens has only taken one f-c wicket at the Oval, where he averages 200 with the ball.

Finally, cricket fans, if not Kent fans must be desperate to see the re-emergence of 23-year-old off-spinner Adam Riley, who has only taken four championship wickets this season in six outings.

If Sam Curran plays, it will mark his first-class debut. His brother Tom goes into this game with 43 first-class wickets on the season, while Kumar Sangakkara will start with 17,928 f-c runs to his name. Of the Kent contingent, Matt Coles (247) is closing in on 250 first-class wickets, Sam Northeast is set to make his 100th f-c appearance and Darren Stevens needs one more wicket for 300 first-class career scalps.

With Matt Dunn (side strain) and Gary Wilson (international duty) unexpected absentees, Sam Curran, Tim Linley, Dominic Sibley and Vikram Solanki (all of whom missed the three-day victory over Gloucestershire a fortnight ago) have been named in Surrey's 13-man squad.

Despite having lost three out of their last four championship meetings with Kent, you'd have to make Surrey favourites as long as the weather plays ball. A few days ago it looked set fair for 13th to the 16th, but now the forecasters are saying we're likely to lose well over a day's play to the elements. If that happens, I can't see this being anything other than a draw.

D Bell-Drummond, J Denly, S Northeast (capt), B Harmison, D Stevens, S Billings (wk), C Haggett, M Coles, A Ball, A Riley and M Hunn.

Ben Debenham and Steve Garratt.

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