Kent Spitfires recorded their highest ever T20 score on Sunday as they defeated Essex Eagles by 67 runs in Canterbury.
The hosts put on 236/3 with the bat, thanks largely to Zak Crawley (67), Daniel Bell-Drummond (88) and Jack Leaning (42 not out). They then dominated with the ball to restrict their rivals to 169 all out and register their fifth win from six games in this year’s Vitality Blast competition.
Following a delayed start due to a wet outfield, play eventually got underway at 15:30 BST. Essex captain Simon Harmer won the toss and elected to bowl with his side swapping Tom Westley and Jamie Porter for Dan Lawrence and Adam Wheater. Kent replaced England-bound Sam Billings with Alex Blake.
Wheater missed a golden chance to stump Zak Crawley off the third ball of the first over, and it was a missed chance that would prove costly.
Crawley timed a lofted drive nicely down the ground for four as the hosts built their total watchfully, before almost running out Daniel Bell-Drummond off the very next ball. Crawley ended the third over with a pull for six though as he began to get into his groove.
Bell-Drummond confidently struck Jack Plom for four fours in a row to take the hosts past 50 in the fifth over, and they reached 71/0 at the end of the powerplay thanks to 16 more runs off Jimmy Neesham’s first over.
The two Kent openers continued to progress well, and Crawley brought up his 50 with a massive pull for six off Aron Nijjar – just before Kent’s 100 was on the board.
Daniel Bell-Drummond’s 50 wasn’t too far behind Crawley’s, brought up with back-to-back sixes off Simon Harmer, as Kent continued to dominate. 118/0 was the score at the halfway stage of the innings.
Crawley and Bell-Drummond combined to add 25 from Nijjar’s final over, featuring four sixes, as Kent found themselves 143/0 off 11 overs.
Essex finally had some ‘joy’ when Crawley was LBW to Paul Walter for 69, but the damage had been done. Joe Denly was the new man in.
Walter and Sam Cook managed to peg Kent back slightly, but Bell-Drummond counter-attacked to play a starring role in a 17-run 14th over.
Walter did drop a tough chance off his own bowling off the bat of Denly, but Sam Cook had dangerman Bell-Drummond caught behind for a more-than-impressive 88 from 44 balls.
Denly was caught by a flying Wheater off Jack Plom for eight as Essex again pegged Kent back, but Alex Blake flicked his first ball off his legs for four as Kent neared 200.
The 200 arrived in explosive fashion when Jack Leaning hammered Neesham for back-to-back sixes, and the 19th over as a whole saw 25 runs from it as Leaning continued his early-Blast form.
18 from the final over saw Kent post a staggering 236/3, with Leaning ending on 42 not out from 17 balls and Blake 16 not out from eight balls.
Joe Denly started Kent off with the ball, and Essex got off to a fast start with Will Buttleman sweeping the second and third balls of the innings for four, but he was bowled fourth ball of for an in-an-out eight.
The other opener, Adam Wheater, slapped Matt Milnes for two fours to start the second over and new man Dan Lawrence continued the onslaught as Essex found themselves 27/1 at the end of the second over.
Lawrence was caught at point off the bowling of Grant Stewart however, and the required rate was soon up above 12.
Wheater continued his personal charge with a big six down the ground to move to 30 from 15 balls, and Essex were 66/2 at the end of the powerplay.
Darren Stevens had Michael Pepper caught at long-on for seven, before Jack Leaning took a spectacular low catch off his own bowling to dismiss New Zealand international Jimmy Neesham for just one.
Leaning then had Ryan ten Doeschate stumped by Cox as things began to unravel for Essex, and the former Yorkshireman then yorked Paul Walter to bowl him for eight.
Simon Harmer offered some resistance with back-to-back boundaries off Leaning, but Qais Ahmad struck with his first ball of the game, having Wheater caught in the deep by Blake for 46.
Essex ticked along for a while without threatening Kent until Simon Harmer was caught by Leaning off Fred Klaassen, and new man Jack Plom lasted just two balls until he was caught behind off the bowling of Matt Milnes.
Qais Ahmad dropped a tough chance off his own bowling as the game and innings drew to a close, and Grant Stewart did the same next over. In doing so too the Italian international injured his right hand and had to leave the field.
Matt Milnes finished Stewarts over and wrapped things up in the final over, having Sam Cook caught by Alex Blake running in from long-on. Kent were the victors by a hefty 67 runs, and ensured they remained top of the South Group.
Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond said: The umpires made a great decision to get the game on. It was really wet out there and I think in most normal circumstances out there, without a crowd, we wouldn’t have been playing. We were a bit confused about how to start and everyone was finding their feet, but Zac got going and I followed suit.
(Asked what he thought their chances were of posting a record in the wet conditions at the St Lawrence). “Zero chance! I thought the boundaries were really small towards the Old Dover Road and I wanted to bowl first because we thought it would seam about. The groundsman said part of the wicket was a tiny bit wet, but it clearly didn’t matter. Four overs in Zac said to me I think this is really flat, I think I’ve been playing this wrong, which he wasn’t, but we all saw a green, wettish wicket, with gloomy conditions. Luckily we were able to make use of that last few overs in the powerplay and carry on.”
Essex’s head coach Anthony McGrath said: “It wasn’t a great start. There was a stumping chance in that first over which could have made a difference but when someone gets a hundred odd for none, you’re up against it. We fought back a little bit but in the end 230-odd’s always going to be a big chase. At the moment we’re not batting well and we’re not bowling well so we’ve got to find some solutions and pretty quickly.
(On bowling first) “We just felt with the wicket being under cover for the last couple of days with the rain there might be a little bit there early on. We went with the extra batting options today and made a couple of changes and changed the balance of the team, so we felt chasing was obviously the best way forward.”