Kent Spitfires fell to their second consecutive defeat with a heavy loss against the Middlesex Panthers at Canterbury.
Having been beaten by Hampshire on Sunday, they welcomed Middlesex to the St Lawrence Ground looking for a win to get their T20 campaign back on track.
As it was, they were always struggling to keep up in a game dominated by the visitors.
Having lost the toss and been asked to field, Kent were in trouble early on as opening pair Paul Stirling and former Kent-opener Joe Denly raced off, posting 81 from their team’s six powerplay overs.
The visitors named a strong team including England internationals Eoin Morgan and Steven Finn, while Kent made one change from the team that lost to the Hampshire Royals at the weekend – skipper Rob Key missing out through injury, replaced by Alex Blake, with Geraint Jones taking over captaincy.
It was the fifth and sixth overs of the Panthers’ innings that really hurt the Spitfires – 18 coming off Matt Coles before Azhar Mahmood was hit for 30 in the sixth, including 6 no balls, as a ball came out the back of his hand, flew over keeper Geraint Jones’ head, and off to the boundary for four.
Irish international Stirling brought up his half century from just 21 deliveries, and he and Denly reached the halfway stage of the innings unbeaten on 103.
The partnership reached 127 before Kent finally made a breakthrough in the 12th over, Coles taking the catch as Stirling put a James Tredwell delivery high in the air at long-on, having made 63 from just 37 deliveries.
That brought England star Eoin Morgan to the crease, and he too scored quickly and freely against the Kent bowlers, before departing in the final over for 36 from 18 balls, Sam Billings taking an excellent diving catch in the deep off the bowling of Azhar Mahmood.
Joe Denly carried his bat through the innings, and his unbeaten 90 would earn him the man-of-the-match award in front of the watching Sky Sports cameras; his side posting an intimidating total of 207-2 from their allotted 20 overs.
Kent came back out knowing that whatever happened, they would struggle to be in a position to win the game.
Billings opened with Sam Northeast, replacing injured skipper Key, and the two played well, both taking a while to settle before finding the boundary more often, reaching 47-0 from their six powerplay overs.
Northeast played a number of excellent shots, including a reverse-flick for four followed by a sweep over square-leg next ball, and by the halfway stage of their innings, Kent were at 89-0 and still hanging on in the game.
The Panthers pounced in the next over though, Gareth Berg getting the breakthrough wicket; Sam Billings driving to the visitors captain Neil Dexter for 43 from 29 deliveries, bringing Darren Stevens to the crease with the score at 90-1.
Sam Northeast brought up his fifty – his first in T20 cricket – from 35 balls, including five fours and one six, but Stevens departed shortly afterwards, caught and bowled by another former Kent man – Neil Dexter – for just one.
Azhar Mahmood joined Northeast at the crease and the two continued to keep Kent in touch, before a calamitous spell ended the match as a contest once and for all.
The Spitfires lost four wickets in four consecutive balls as the innings fell apart – first Northeast chipped Dexter to Eoin Morgan at long-on for a well-made 60, before Mahmood was dismissed in almost identical fashion next ball.
As the new over started Matt Coles hit his first ball straight to Tom Smith at backward point off the bowling of Paul Stirling, before Alex Blake was run out without facing, leaving the Spitfires 121-6.
Geraint Jones and Brendan Nash were at the crease, and despite the game already being up, Jones played some nice shots, including a huge six over midwicket, before becoming the seventh and final Kent wicket to fall as he was caught in the deep by Stirling off the bowling of Toby Roland-Jones.
Adam Ball joined Nash in the middle but the two did little to dent the scorecard as they took Kent to 159-7 at the end of their innings, the Spitfires succumbing to a 48-run defeat.
England’s Steven Finn bowled excellently for the Panthers, his four overs costing just 15 runs, while Dexter finished the game with three wickets for just 22 runs.
Speaking to KSN at the close of play, top-scorer Sam Northeast said that the Spitfires next game – against Sussex at Hove on Friday – would be a vital one.
He said: “We have to believe that we can get back to winning games. We’re going to have a few really good training sessions in preparation, but it’s a must-win game on Friday so we’ll have to give it everything.
It has been a good start to the season, but it means nothing if you don’t have a good second half.”
He also admitted that the start put on by Stirling and Denly brought back memories of Glenn Maxwell’s damaging knock for Hampshire on Sunday.
“They just kept hitting sixes and fours, I thought it had to stop at some stage, but that’s what happens in Twenty20; a guy gets on a roll and you just can’t stop them sometimes” he said.
Middlesex won the toss and elected to bat.
Kent side: Northeast, Billings, Mahmood, Stevens, Nash, Blake, Jones, Tredwell, Coles, Ball, Davies.
Middlesex side: Denly, Stirling, Morgan, Malan, Dexter, Berg, Simpson, Rayner, Roland-Jones, Smith, Finn.
Umpires: M Bodenham, G Sharp & T Jesty
Result: Middlesex Panthers 207-2 (20 overs), Kent Spitfires 159-7 (20 overs), Middlesex Panthers won by 48 runs.