KENT go into the last three weeks of the domestic season with several issues unresolved, including the lure of prize money and the threat of relegation.

In championship terms, Kent can nigh on cement their place as Division 1 runner’s up in the Frizzell Division 1 with a victory in their penultimate four-day game at St Lawrence starting tomorrow (Friday) at 10.30am.

Basement side Northamptonshire provide the opposition knowing a Kent win is likely to send them down and leave David Fulton’s side in pole position for the £50,000 runner’s-up cheque.

“Unless the wheels fall off at Warwickshire I cannot see us catching them, but it is in our own hands to finish second,” said Fulton ahead of the game.

“Second in the championship would probably be about right in terms of Kent’s performances this year and if we can do that, then dig ourselves out of a hole in the league, then we will have salvaged something from quite a difficult season.”

Fulton and Co will find out their totesport League fate when they play the Steelbacks under floodlights at St Lawrence on Tuesday (4.10pm start).

Next-to-bottom Spitfires will need an emphatic win over Northamptonshire and other results to go their way if they are to maintain their record of never having been relegated.

Even with a victory on Tuesday night Kent will need Warwickshire to thrash Gloucestershire away (Saturday) and champions Glamorgan to drub Essex in Chelmsford (Monday) if they are to survive.

Once those issues are sorted Kent’s cricket committee will then sit down and resolve the make-up of the squad for 2005.

Having signed Rob Key on a new ‘long-term’ deal, Kent have seven players out of contract come the end of the season.

Ed Smith, Min Patel and Alex Loudon are the most notable but they, together with Joe Denly, Niall O’Brien and Simon Cusden, will expect to be offered new deals.

It would appear Ben Trott’s five-year stint with the club will come to an end, while the future of Alamgir Sheriyar, a high-profile first team absentee in recent weeks despite securing a contract extension through 2005, remains in doubt.