Skipper Sam Northeast led the way as Kent maintained their one-day stranglehold over Somerset with a 12-run NatWest T20 Blast group win at Taunton.

The visitors posted 187 for five after losing the toss, Northeast top-scoring with 75 off 42 balls, with 9 fours and 2 sixes. Joe Denly contributed 35 and Alex Blake 26 not out, while Roelof van der Merwe was the most economical Somerset bowler, conceding 28 from his four overs.

In reply, the hosts managed 175 for nine, with only Peter Trego showing the necessary aggression and quality, scoring 63 off just 34 balls, with 8 fours and 3 sixes. Darren Stevens claimed three for 30.

It was Kent’s eighth straight win over Somerset in the one-day competitions, but both sides look set for elimination before the knock-out stage.

After a slight delay because of rain, the match started with no overs lost and Kent were soon on the attack, taking 17 off the third over, bowled by Jamie Overton. Tom Latham had contributed 12 to an opening stand of 27 with Denly when chipping Lewis Gregory (two for 32) straight to Jim Allenby at mid-wicket.

Denly hit the first six of the game off van der Merwe before Northeast smashed four successive boundaries off Tim Groenewald at the start of the sixth over, which ended with Kent 59 for one from the powerplay.

The score had reached 85 when Denly, who had faced 29 balls, was caught and bowled by Max Waller, diving to his right.

Northeast went to his half-century with a six off Overton in the 12^th over, having faced 27 balls and hit 7 fours and a six. The following over from Groenewald saw Sam Billings brilliantly caught on the mid-wicket boundary by van der Merwe for 14.

Northeast finally fell to Overton, who along with Groenewald and Waller proved expensive, in the 17^th over, but by then Kent were on course for a challenging score.

Somerset’s reply started badly as openers Johann Myburgh and Mahela Jayawardene fell in the first 19 balls, to Kagiso Rabada and Stevens respectively.

But Trego was in typically aggressive mood against his old county, counter attacking with a six off Mitch Claydon and two more maximums off the following over from David Griffiths as Somerset matched Kent’s total of 59 off the powerplay.

Trego went to fifty off 28 balls, with 6 fours and 3 sixes, but was receiving little support as Allenby, having taken 19 balls to reach 20, was bowled playing back to Fabian Cowdrey.

Michael Leask was reprieved on nought as, having been given out stumped by Billings off Cowdrey, he was sportingly recalled by the Kent wicketkeeper, who had not been in control of the ball.

The key moment came in the 13^th over when Trego attempted another six off Cowdrey and was caught at long-off by Latham.

Leask was run out going for a second off Cowdrey before the wily Stevens bowled Gregory with the first ball of the 16^th over and Overton with the last, conceding only four runs in between.

Somerset required 13 an over off the last four. Despite an entertaining cameo from van der Merwe, a further clatter of wickets left them well short.