The Kent Spitfires got their Twenty 20 campaign back on track with a superb win against the Hampshire Royals on Friday night.

Rob Key’s side defended their 151 for 5 in style as they restricted the home side to 148 for 6 off their 20 overs in a tense and thrilling finish at the Ageas Bowl in Southampton.

It was the home side skipper Dimi Mascarenhas that won the toss and elected to insert the Spitfires side that incredibly included spinner James Tredwell, who’d had a mammoth drive from Leeds down south, after the third One Day International at Headingley had been rained off.

That meant the Spitfires went into the game with an unchanged side having lost so narrowly to the Essex Eagles at Chelmsford on Wednesday night.

Once again Sam Billings and Key got Kent off to a solid start with the former more of the aggressor and the skipper content on playing more of an anchor role.

They made steady progress in the face of some tight bowling from the Royals attack, with Key smashing Mascarenhas for six, but falling lbw to the former England man just a ball later with the score on 32.

Billings was to fall just ten runs later as Chris Wood got one through his defences for a well constructed twenty.

Both Azhar Mahmood and Darren Stevens were prepared to do the hard yards and work the ball around, whilst picking off the bad balls to the boundary, with Stevens run out for fourteen when taking on the arm of Vince.

Mahmood went for 22 shortly after as he was superbly caught one handed by Danny Briggs on the boundary with Mascarenhas almost unable to believe how well his fielder had taken the sharp chance.

The Spitfires dug in once again and both Brendan Nash and Sam Northeast engineered the side into a strong position with Nash punching boundaries before departing for 17.

It was then down to Northeast and Matt Coles to see the Spitfires through to a respctable score as they put on 32 runs in the last two overs.

Northeast was yet again showing what a class batsman he is as he smashed six fours and a maximum in his 46 off just 26 balls, whilst Coles was supportive in striking 10 off just 6 balls.

Set 152 to win, the Royals made a fine start to their chase with openers Jimmy Adams (no relation to Kent’s coach) and former Kent batsman Michael Carberry content to see off the ever dangerous Mark Davies, but attacked both Matt Coles and Azhar Mahmood.

The pair put on 51 for the opening wicket in just over 6 overs, with the much travelled Tredwell making the breakthrough as he trapped Adams lbw for 27 off only 16 balls.

That proved crucial as Carberry and number three James Vince saw the run rate drop and in the end it proved too much for Carberry (28) as he picked out Coles in the deep with Adam Ball taking the wicket.

Vince fell to Tredwell in the very next over as Ball was on hand to take the catch, reducing the home side to 90 for 3.

Four overs on and Hampshire could only put on another 20 runs and yet again the pressure began to build with Zimbabwean Sean Ervine trying to find the boundary, instead picking out Billings as Mahmood took his first wicket of the game.

The nerves then began to take hold of all in the ground as the game swung one way and then the other, with Neil McKenzie and Glenn Maxwell looking to edge their side ever closer to their 152 target.

Just as it seemed they could be pulling off something special, two wickets in two balls changed the game. Firstly, Mahmood had Maxwell superbly caught on the boundary by Northeast for 14 and the very next ball Mascarenhas was bowled by Matt Coles for nought.

Still needing 18 to win, Kabir Ali took a single off ball number two of the over, Mckenzie did the same off ball number three, leaving 16 off 3.

That became ten off two when Ali smashed Coles out of the ground.

With fans on the edge of their seats, Coles tucked Ali up and he could only manage two and despite hitting a boundary off the last ball of the game, the Spitfires had clung on for a well deserved three run win.

From here, the Royals come to Canterbury on Sunday for the return fixture before the televised game against Middlesex on Tuesday night. The Spitfires victory takes them up to second in the Southern Division table, just a point behind the Essex Eagles.

Hampshire won the toss and elected to bowl.

Hampshire side: Adams, Carberry, Vince, McKenzie, Ervine, Maxwell, Mascarenhas, Ali, Wood, Bates, Briggs.

Kent side: Key, Billings, Mahmood, Stevens, Nash, Northeast, Jones, Tredwell, Coles, Ball, Davies.

Umpires: J Evans & J Lloyds

Result: Kent Spitfires 151 for 5 (20 overs), Hampshire Royals 148 for 6 (20 overs). Kent Spitfires won by three runs.