Saggers undergoes keyhole surgery

Martin Saggers has been forced to miss the Twenty20 Cup after undergoing keyhole surgery on a troublesome knee. He will also sit out their Frizzell County Championship match against Essex, starting on 27 June.

Saggers, 31, has been one of Kent's most consistent performers in recent seasons. Since joining the club in 1999, he has taken 243 first-class wickets and 79 in one-day games, and has regularly been mentioned in dispatches ahead of England selection meetings - although, like that other county stalwart, Surrey's Martin Bicknell, he has consistently been overlooked in the final analysis.

Kent have recruited the Pakistani fast bowler Mohammad Sami on a short-term contract, but he will not be available until after June 22, the final match of Pakistan's NatWest Challenge against England.