Kent Spitfires let victory slip through their fingers, as they were defeated off the final ball of their NatWest T20 Blast match with Gloucestershire.

Having seemingly been in control for the vast majority of the match, Kent were unable to see the game home as Gloucestershire chased the 151 required to win the game at Bristol, largely thanks to young Adam Rouse’s unbeaten 35 from 16 balls; the wicket-keeper featuring in just the second T20 game of his career.

21-year-old Rouse only signed on with Gloucestershire as a triallist last week, with the club recently having been blighted by a number of injuries to wicket-keepers, and his performance tonight could go a long way towards securing a permanent deal for himself.

The defeat marks the second time in as many weeks that Kent have suffered disappointment off the final ball of a T20 game, having not been able to make a single off the last delivery that would have won them their game at Glamorgan exactly two weeks ago tonight.

Sam Northeast’s career-best T20 score of 75, alongside Mitch Claydon’s excellent figures of 3-24 from four overs, would both end up being in vain for the Spitfires at Bristol, as the home side timed their late charge perfectly, taking 15 runs from the final over, bowled by Doug Bollinger. The scores eventually saw Gloucestershire make 154-7 after they had won the toss and put Kent in to bat; the Spitfires making 150-6 from their 20-over allocation.

The Spitfires had made a decent start to the game, setting a strong foundation for themselves with Rob Key (14) the only batsman to fall in the first 10 overs.

Daniel Bell-Drummond played more of an anchor role, while Sam Northeast came in at three and looked to score quickly and pick up the run rate, especially heading into the second half of Kent’s innings, having been 68-1 after 10 overs.

Bell-Drummond made 32 from 31 balls before being trapped lbw by slow left-armer Tom Smith, as the rest of the Kent batsmen struggled to match the exploits of Northeast. The 24-year-old has been scoring runs aplenty in the Second XI in recent weeks after being dropped from the Kent four-day team due to a lack of form, carrying that into this evening’s match.

Darren Stevens (8) and Alex Blake (1) both fell cheaply as Kent looked to push on, before Northeast eventually fell for a superb 75 that had featured nine boundaries, including four sixes, when he went lbw to Graeme McCarter in the penultimate over.

Sam Billings (7) was dismissed off the second-to-last ball of the innings as Kent closed on 150-6; a score considered to be probably around par on a slow-ish Bristol pitch.

The Kent attack started impressed early in Gloucestershire’s reply, with Claydon outstanding, picking up the wickets of both Alex Gidman and Chris Dent, both for 8, in the third over of the home side’s chase.

Bollinger bowled Hamish Marshall for 10 as Gloucestershire reached just 37-3 from their six powerplay overs, and 56-3 at the halfway stage of their innings, requiring another 95 runs from 60 balls at that point.

When Adam Ball dismissed Ian Cockbain for 18 in the eleventh over, Kent seemed well on top with the score at 60-4 with just nine overs left to bowl.

It was shortly after that that the tide seemed to begin to turn, however, although when Claydon returned for the 15th over and immediately removed Benny Howell (26), Kent appeared to still be in control.

Will Gidman made a useful, 13-ball 22, and Jack Taylor a 10-ball 19 as they helped drag their side back into contention, but it was Adam Rouse, who played his first ever T20 in yesterday’s no-result against Middlesex, who the plaudits really must go to.

He continued to chip away at the target, getting it down to 12 needed from the final six balls; a solid effort in itself considering that they had slipped to 101-6 in the 16th over.

After Tom Smith had run a two and a single off the first two balls, Rouse hit fours from three of the remaining four, including the final delivery, to give the home side their third T20 win of the season.

Tonight’s defeat further damages the Spitfires’ hopes of making it through to the quarter finals stage of this year’s NatWest T20 Blast, with recent disappointing performances undoing much of the excellent work the team put in in some of their games in the shortest format earlier in the season.

Another disappointment on the night for Kent saw David Griffiths forced from the field midway through bowling the penultimate over of the night. He appeared to injure his left leg in taking the wicket of Jack Taylor, with Adam Ball having to bowl the final three balls of the over.

Griffiths could well be an injury worry for Kent’s next limited-overs fixture, when they will hope to return to winning ways when they take on Surrey at The Oval on Wednesday night. The game starts at 7.30pm and will be broadcast live on Sky Sports 2.

 

Gloucestershire vs. Kent Spitfires, NatWest T20 Blast, South Group, The County Ground, Bristol, 27 June 2014:

Gloucestershire 154-7 (Rouse 35*; Claydon 3-24) beat Kent Spitfires 150-6 (Northeast 75, Bell-Drummond 32; McCarter 2-26) by three wickets

 

Gloucestershire: Dent, A Gidman*, Cockbain, Marshall, Howell, W Gidman, Rouse†, Taylor, Smith, McCarter, Payne

Kent Spitfires: Bell-Drummond, Key*, Northeast, Stevens, Blake, Billings†, Ball, Tredwell, Claydon, Griffiths, Bollinger

Gloucestershire won the toss and elected to field

Full scorecard available here

 

Pictures supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com