Essex meet Kent at Canterbury tomorrow in a County Championship fixture with a severely-depleted bowling attack.

Mark Ilott is continuing his recuperation from a cartilage operation whilst the county's leading wicket taker, Peter Such, has been called into the England squad for Thursday's Test Match at Old Trafford.

The loss of the 35-year-old is a blow for Essex, especially as wickets have now become harder and conducive to the off-spinners' skills.

In his absence, the county are set to draft in Tim Phillips, 18, who impressed in his first-class debut against Sri Lanka two weeks ago.

A bowler who is prepared to give the ball plenty of air and spin, he took four for 42 against the tourists in their first innings and has received the highest praise from the Essex coaching staff who have already marked him down as a player for the future.

The former Felsted schoolboy - set to move onto university at Durham or Loughborough in September - will also strengthen the batting line up having broken all records at Felsted this summer.

The remainder of the side is likely to be unchanged from the team that suffered the innings defeat against Northampton-shire, although Ian Flanagan or Tim Walton could replace the out of form Darren Robinson, who enjoyed a less than happy return to the first team scoring 27 and out for a duck in the second innings.

Left-hander Flanagan impressed in the recent one-day under-19 internationals for England against Australia and boasts a solid technique and good powers of concentration.

With both Kent and Essex enjoying exalted positions in the Championship, Kent are fifth and one point and one place below Essex, both teams will be anxious to secure maximum bonus points before moving on to forge a victory that would enhance their chances of finishing in a top-nine place at the end of the season.

Essex squad: R Irani (capt), P Prichard, P Grayson, D Robinson, s Law, S Peters, B Hyam, T Phillips, A Cowan, R Anderson, D Thompson, I Flanagan, T Walton.

Prichard aims for another run spree

Matches against Kent have provided 34-year-old Essex opener Paul Prichard with a wealth of runs.

He has made four centuries and one double century in matches between the counties since 1992, including two "tons" in one drawn match at Maidstone in 1993 where he hit 104 and 106.

Then in 1997, he played a memorable second innings at Canterbury, where Essex were beaten by an innings and eight runs, scoring 224 out of 361.

He had made 70 of that total when he suffered torn hamstrings and batted virtually on one leg for the remainder of his innings using a runner.

He admits that he recalls that innings as "maybe one of my best, but certainly the most painful".

The former Essex captain added: "Matches with Kent always have that extra edge because they are our nearest rivals.

"We are due for a win having lost the last three matches against them and we are anxious to qualify for next season's first division.

"Although we lost our last match against Northampton-shire, we had played well in the previous three games gaining three good victories and hopefully we can recapture that form to consolidate our league position."

Benefit match gets another boost

Nasser Hussain's benefit match at Billericay Cricket Club has received an extra boost from Channel 4.

The station will be filming at Blunts Wall Road on August 11 when Billericay take on a celebrity XI, which will feature well-known names from sport, music and television.

Snooker favourite Steve Davis has withdrawn from the match, but Matchroom supremo Barry Hearn is stepping into his place.

Channel 4 cricket reporter Sybil Roscoe will also be at the game, which starts at 1.30pm.

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