Mark Ealham is confident Notts can cope with the loss of several of their frontline seamers and claim their place at Finals Day in the Twenty20 Cup.

Twenty20 Cup quarter-final
July 17: Notts Outlaws v Kent Spitfires
Start time: 5.40pm

The veteran all-rounder will be taking on his former county Kent in a quarter-final clash set to be played in front of a sell-out Trent Bridge crowd.

Notts will be missing Ryan Sidebottom to England duty and Charlie Shreck with a bruised shin, while Paul Franks and AJ Harris are major doubts with ankle and knee injuries respectively.

But as Ealham pointed out, the squad’s bowling resources were able to cope during the group stages with similar problems and sees no reason why they cannot profit again.

He said: “It’s far from ideal when the big guns are out, but in Twenty20 you can deal with it better than in other competitions.

“We’ve seen how most teams these days try and take the pace off the ball and we’ve adjusted our tactics accordingly.

“In Graeme Swann and Rob Ferley we’ve got two full-time spinners and then there’s also David Hussey and Samit Patel, and both myself and Gareth Clough are more defensive bowlers in the competition.

“Simon Francis has stepped up well too to open the bowling and I’m confident we’ve got enough in the tank to beat Kent. If we can do that then I would hope some of the quicks will be back for Finals Day.”

Ealham’s inside knowledge on the Kent dressing room is not what it used to be, with plenty of personnel changes since the 37-year-old moved to Notts in 2004.

But he will still be up for the challenge alongside fellow Canterbury old-boy Ferley - and will be targeting some familiar names with bat and ball.

He added: “Playing against Kent always adds a bit of spice and I know Rob is looking forward to it as well.

“Looking at their squad, they rely on players like Rob Key to bat through as many overs as possible. Andrew Hall will be a key man in both departments and they are a bit like us in having plenty of all-rounders doing the bowling.”

Squad:
Swann, Fleming (capt), Patel, Hussey, Wagh, Jefferson, Shafayat, Read (wkt), Ealham, Clough, Ferley, Francis, Harris.