Kent Spitfires batsman Alex Blake was happy to be able to help the side to victory over Gloucestershire with his career-best 41 on Friday night.

Blake top-scored in Kent’s innings as they posted a total of 136-7 from their 20 overs, before restricting the visitors to 111-9 in reply, giving the Spitfires their second win in as many NatWest T20 Blast games this season.

The 25-year-old’s knock – his high score in T20 cricket –  continued his impressive form this season in limited-overs cricket for Kent, having also top-scored for the Spitfires with 61 in their defeat against the touring Sri Lankans in May.

Speaking after Kent had completed their 21-run victory over Gloucestershire at Canterbury, Blake said he was happy with his form so far in the 2014 campaign.

“I’m happy with how the one-day stuff is going at the moment”, he said. “I feel in pretty good nick.”

“Like I say in every interview; I’ve got to keep being positive with my batting, and that works best for me, so that’s what I’ll keep doing.”

The Farnborough-born left-handed bat also said that he was more worried about helping the team to victory, rather than achieving his own landmark, and he also praised the performances of a number of his teammates.

His 30-ball knock was a vital one for the team, however, and featured five fours and one six, a fantastic cut over point off a James Fuller full-toss.

“It was my high score, but I think what I was more impressed by was the fact that I could really help the team get to a score where we had something to bowl at”, he said.

“We saw the wicket at the start, and it looked a bit tacky and that was what the guys came back in and said. I came in with about 11 overs left, and I just had a bit of time really to see myself there and get us up to a 120 or 130 was what we had looked at. We got to 136 so it was alright.”

“I think 136 on that wicket was always going to give us a bit of a chance. The bowlers backed us up and Dougie [Bollinger] bowled well, [Adam] Riley in the middle got a four-for, Stevo [Darren Stevens] did his usual thing, and it was just nice to help the team out.”

Having not featured in a First Class game for Kent since 2012, Blake admitted that he hoped his form might help him push for a return to the four-day team.

“I think I’ve got to look at the one-day format mainly, because the four-day batting line-up is pretty settled”, he said.

“That doesn’t mean that I don’t want to play in four-day cricket – I’ve got to keep scoring runs in the second team to try and push my case.”

 

Picture supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com