An unbeaten 81 from Ravi Bopara helped consign Kent to their second NatWest T20 Blast defeat of the season against Essex at Canterbury.
England batsman Bopara’s knock was the decisive one in deciding a game between the two local rivals that had been billed the “Battle of the Bridge”, as he helped his side chase down a target of 190 with an over to spare.
Kent were far from their best in the field, as they put down three big chances which could have proved vital, and on such things are games won and lost.
In-form skipper Rob Key again impressed with the bat for the Spitfires, making a top-scoring 62, while his opening partner Daniel Bell-Drummond also contributed 48 to Kent’s total of 189-5.
Bopara’s innings, however, and his partnership of 104 with Ryan ten Doeschate, who made 47, put the visitors in the driving seat, as the Eagles completed their six-wicket win with six balls remaining, pulling off the highest successful run chase at in a T20 at Canterbury in the process.
Kent will be pleased to see the back of 29-year-old Bopara, who also scored 162 against them in their County Championship draw which finished yesterday.
Having won the toss and elected to bat; a tactic which has served them well so far in the T20 Blast this season, Kent would have been satisfied posting 189-5. The opening pair of Bell-Drummond and Key put on a superb 119 for the first wicket – Kent’s highest ever opening partnership in T20 cricket, bettering the 96 Key had made alongside Joe Denly against Nottinghamshire in 2006.
They found the boundary with regularity throughout the first half of the Kent innings, reaching 65-0 after the six powerplay overs and 97-0 at the midway stage, running hard to put the pressure on the fielders and squeeze as many runs as they could.
They were helped by some wayward bowling from spinner Tom Phillips, whose two overs went for 28, and initially Tymal Mills, who saw his first two overs cost 26 runs.
However, when Mills returned to the attack for the 13th over, it proved to be something of a turning point, as he removed both of the set batsmen within the space of five balls.
He first had Bell-Drummond caught behind by wicket-keeper James Foster to fall two short of what would have been his second T20 half-century, before bowling Key with a slower delivery that kept a little low. The captain departed for 62, in a knock which had taken just 40 balls and included six fours and two sixes.
Darren Stevens could only add six before being bowled by the evergreen David Masters, before Alex Blake was impressively caught and bowled by visiting skipper ten Doeschate, also for six.
Sam Northeast made an unbeaten 21, including two almighty consecutive sixes off Reece Topley in the penultimate over; one which Kent took 18 runs from.
Mills picked up his third wicket when Sam Billings chopped onto his own stumps in the final over, but not before he had made a useful 26 as Kent added 45 runs in the final four overs of their innings; Adam Ball putting the last two balls of the innings both away for four.
Kent started their defence of 190 in spectacular fashion; Darren Stevens opening the Essex innings with a wicket maiden, as he bowled Mark Pettini third ball as the opener attempted a big legside heave.
However, from that point on, the batsmen looked to get on top of the Kent attack. Jesse Ryder looked in particularly menacing form, making 32 from just 14 balls before being brilliantly run out by Adam Riley as he drifted out of his crease at the non-striker’s end.
Wicket-keeper Billings impressed with the gloves throughout the evening, and saw off Tom Westley (27) with a smart legside stumping off the bowling of Stevens; his work reminiscent of his opposite number Foster – one of the smartest and most renowned glovemen in the country.
That wicket brought Bopara and ten Doeschate together, and though the pair batted excellently to take control of the match, they were helped by the Spitfires putting three catches down in the field.
Doug Bollinger was the first to be guilty of this; dropping a relatively tough chance at long-on with ten Doeschate on 7. James Tredwell then gave the same man another lifeline on 10 with an opportunity off his own bowling, but he couldn’t cling on as the Netherlands batsman smacked one straight back at him.
Bopara was put down in the deep by Bell-Drummond when he had already moved into the thirties; this one another difficult chance, and after that, the pair continued to score quickly as they moved their side into a winning position.
Ten Doeschate did fall before the close, caught on the third man boundary by Riley off Griffiths for 47, but Ben Foakes joined Bopara in the middle to see the visitors home, man-of-the-match Bopara dispatching the final ball of the penultimate over back over David Griffiths’ head for four to complete the win.
Tonight’s match brings Kent’s seven consecutive days of cricket to an end, but they have just the one day off before they are again back in action.
They travel to Cardiff tomorrow, where they will look to put the defeat behind them quickly and aim to get back to winning ways against Glamorgan on Friday night.
Kent Spitfires vs. Essex Eagles, NatWest T20 Blast, South Group, The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury, 11 June 2014:
Essex 193-4 (Bopara 81 not out, ten Doeschate 47; Stevens 2-30) beat Kent 189-5 (Key 62, Bell-Drummond 48; Mills 3-41) by six wickets with six balls remaining
Kent: Bell-Drummond, Key*, Stevens, Blake, Billings†, Northeast, Ball, Tredwell, Riley, Bollinger, Griffiths
Essex: Pettini, Ryder, Westley, Bopara, ten Doeschate*, Foakes, Foster†, Phillips, Masters, Mills, Topley
Kent won the toss and elected to bat
Full scorecard available here