ESSEX are set to begin their Friends Provident Trophy defence without overseas star Danish Kaneria.

The official line from the club sees Kaneria ‘still waiting for confirmation of his visa’ ahead of their clash with Northamptonshire at Chelmsford on Sunday (10.45am start).

It’s a huge blow for skipper Mark Pettini (pictured, centre), who is already without Indian Premier League pair Ravi Bopara and Graham Napier.

With Alastair Cook recovering from a broken finger, Pettini will be forced to field a much-changed side from the one which he led to victory in the final at Lord’s last season.

Hero of the day Grant Flower is expected to return and will be hoping to repeat his finest moment in an Essex shirt.

The challenge of keeping Essex on course for a second successive Trophy win is a big one for Pettini, but he is up to the task, according to former skipper Ronnie Irani.

“Mark Pettini was my first choice to replace me as captain,” said Irani, the 37-year-old former skipper, who retired in 2007 due to a long-running knee injury.

“People thought ‘why him, what has he done?’ “But I identified him as a bright lad and a top player.

“He is an impressive talent and is Essex through and through and respected in the dressing room.

“The pressure will be increased after his success last year definitely, but he will learn faster from that.

“He is clever enough to learn from it and I put him in the category of player who can improve from that situation.”

Pettini said the success he and the team have had has been a boost to him, but it is just the start of what he wants to achieve as Essex skipper.

He added: “I guess it is nice for myself to know that in my first full season as a captain that the team had success and I have a squad of players who I can be proud of the way they play their cricket.

“As a captain I can really believe in them and have confidence when I pick any of them and take them out on to the field.

“From my point of view, perhaps I exceeded the expectations I had.

“To win trophies was superb, but that has gone and this year we will try to push on as hard as we can for more success.”