Essex Eagles will be able to call upon four key players for tonight's game with Surrey at the Oval.
Ryan ten Doeschate is back to lead the team for the first time after his IPL exertions, while Ravi Bopara is also available for the game after the end of England's one-day series with Sri Lanka.
And Essex's depleted bowling resources have also been boosted with the news that both David Masters and Tymal Mills are fit enough to be in the squad.
Masters has been out since the drawn game with Gloucestershire at the end of April thanks to a quad injury, while Mills suffered a side strain in the game with Leicestershire the following week.
A lot of eyes will be on Kevin Pietersen, who will make his first appearance in England since being sacked by the national team during the winter.
But skipper ten Doeschate is confident his side will be able to focus on their own game.
"He'll obviously attract a lot of attention but we'll just be focusing on making sure we are playing to the best of our skills to get past Surrey," he said.
"It will be a proud moment for me when I lead the side out.
"I've been at Essex for more than a decade now and it's an honour to have been asked to take on the captaincy in one-day cricket.
"Mark Pettini did a great job while I was away and I'll be keeping close to him and Fozzy [James Foster].
"We've made a decent start but now we need to build on that."
