Man of the match Alex Blake brought Kent home to a narrow and hard fought one wicket victory at The County Ground, Beckenham after a fine sixty-six not out delivering the perfect start to this season’s Royal London One Day Cup campaign.

The win saw Kent gain revenge for the quarter final defeat in the same competition to the same opposition and also ended Kent’s recent winless run having lost the previous two games all be it in the T20 Blast.

When 111/1 Kent were well placed but soon collapsed and in trouble at 115/5 but with great support from Captain Sam Northeast, Blake was able to bring home the victory with a wicket and ball to spare.

The game took place in sunny and warm conditions, markedly different to those played in only two days earlier in the T20 Blast game at the same ground unlike the toss which the visitors won electing to bat first.

Surrey got off to an excellent start and with little troubling opening pair Jason Roy and Steven Davies they saw off the batting power-play with wickets in tact and the score on a healthy 56/0.

With the power-play over fortunes swiftly changed, Kent making immediate inroads – David Griffiths struck within two balls of the fielding change as Davies found Daniel Bell-Drummond, Kent’s opening batsman with a simple catch (23, 56/1).

The following over and more success as Tredwell, on for his first over, saw Roy go long but as in the last over Bell-Drummond was well placed to take another simple catch (32, 58/2).

Losing two quick wickets the visitors, aided by some tight bowling and fielding, were being restricted bringing some equilibrium to the game as Griffiths, Tredwell and Darren Stevens strangled the batsmen – After twenty overs the visitors were 86/2 – Only thirty runs coming from the previous ten overs.

Just prior to the halfway point in the innings the visitors brought up their hundred in a Fabian Cowdrey over that also brought about the first six of the day whilst moments later Cowdrey had the inauspicious pleasure to bowl a free-hit delivery – Which Kent restricted to a single.

During a short period of ‘firsts’ Darren Stevens picked up a wicket as Rory Burns departed holing out to Blake on the Copers Cope Rd boundary (30, 136/3) and in the next over Kumar Sangakarra took a single to bring up a fine half-century (43b, 3×4, 1×6).

Just as the visitors were settling into a rhythm, mostly down to the experienced and dangerous Sangakkara, Cowdrey got the experienced man out as the Sri Lankan somewhat inexplicably lofted the ball straight to Tredwell at mid-off (58, 153/4).

A significant wicket and Kent looked to inflict further damage to the visitors cause once gain limiting runs and increasing the pressure which soon delivered success as Matt Coles, brought back to the attack, got one to rise quickly and onto Gary Wilson who in fending it off could only direct the ball high with Kent’s athletic Sam Billings taking the catch at full stretch (11, 169/5).

As the visitors approached the final ten over power-play the hosts had done a sterling job one again with the score 191/5 – the previous ten overs going for an equivalent 38/1.

Finely poised with Kent looking for wickets and limiting runs whilst Surrey looking to push on and post a score despite bringing up their two-hundred in the forty-second over the next swung to the hosts as Tredwell struck in his final over – Sam Curran out caught by captain Sam Northeast (22, 206/6) – Tredwell finishing with excellent figures of 2/33.

Inside the final five overs Kent had double success in quick succession as Ansari holed out to Bell-Drummond on the boundary (30, 222/7). Kent’s star man o far this season with the bat taking three catches in the innings.

The eighth and what proved to be the final wicket of the innings fell in unusual circumstances as Tom Curran inside edged a Griffiths delivery past the diving Billings for four.

However a sheepish yet inquisitive Griffiths raised his hand to the umpire with Billings shortly after joining in as both had noticed the bails dislodged – the ball had clipped the stumps on the way through and Curran was out bowled (11, 230/8).

Surrey registered a second six of the day as Gareth Batty launched a Matt Coles ball over long-off into the main stand as the visitors’ innings closed on 255/8 – A score Kent would have taken after the positive start and opening ten overs the visitors had plundered.

In reply Bell-Drummond and back in the side Tom Latham opened up for the hosts and despite being relatively untroubled in the opening exchanges Kent’s overseas man was first to fall as he was out to Sam Curran (7, 16/1).

Joe Denly joined Bell-Drummond as Kent pressed on with the chase and after the ten-over batting power-play were well in it at 48/1

Although struggling to find boundaries and quick scoring runs the hosts kept the scoreboard ticking over nudging singles – When the chance did present itself both Denly and Bell-Drummond despatched loose balls for four respectively in an over delivering twelve runs.

But it continued to be challenging for the batsmen as Ansari and Batty, both slower bowlers, gave little away whilst it was proving difficult to get the ball away when a chance presented itself.

Showing great resilience the Kent pair rallied taking their chances to find runs when offered – Bell-Drummond in particular finding the boundary rope.

As Kent reached the hundred-mark in the twentieth over Bell-Drummond followed it with a boundary to bring up yet another half century from what is already proving a great season for the youngster (53b, 5×4).

With Kent looking well set both Denly and Bell-Drummond got out in quick succession – Sangakarra at the centre of the action – Denly (38) looking to over long-off didn’t middle it offering Sangakarra the catch (111/2) with Bell-Drummond (56) soon following looking to cleverly edge Stuart Meaker over the third man boundary rope but gave the ball enough air to give the Sri Lankan ample opportunity to take it once more (112/3).

And whilst in Metropolitan London the adage of things coming in three’s came to life as Fabian Cowdrey (1) no sooner had come to the crease but was soon back in the pavilion stumped by Wilson off the bowling of Ansari (114/4).

Surrey were in a purple patch whilst Kent were creaking and as Meaker bowled a ball short of a length and slightly wide of off-stump Billings’ (1) eyes lit up but upon cutting the ball well stood in dismay as he found Burns at backward-point (115/5).

Sam Northeast and Darren Stevens were now at the crease with the job to stabilise the innings and keep the scoreboard ticking over – Between the two of them and others to come the game was by no means over.

And that they did as they moved the score on well towards Kent’s one-fifty until Stevens played a loose shot and drove straight to Sangakarra at mid-wicket – Stevens out for 17, Kent 147/6 and Sangakarra matching Bell-Drummond earlier in the day taking a third catch.

Blake now took on the role to help shore up the innings with he and Northeast surpassing Kent’s one-fifty then reducing the required run total to a psychologically lifting number of less than one-hundred.

An excellent over for Kent delivered fourteen runs including three boundaries, two for Blake and as the hosts reached the final ten overs with Northeast (26*) and Blake (19*) at the crease seventy-two runs were required with sixty balls remaining.

The final power-play reinvigorated the batsmen as both looked to unleash bigger shots than had been seen earlier –Blake struck a four, initially signalled a six, followed by two runs excellently run

Northeast followed the sudden flurry with a mighty six landing just in front of the scoreboard on the Copers Cope Rd side of the ground – Bringing up the fifty partnership between he and Blake in an over that also brought up Kent’s two-hundred.

It wasn’t to be for Northeast (47) to bring it home though as he flailed wildly at a wide one, caught in from of the main stand (219/7).

Coles, perhaps with thoughts of his near-heroic century at The Oval last season, found Batty tough to get away and with his keenness to get on with it he missed a straight one – A century v Surrey last season in the same competition last season – Today a duck (226/8).

With the game finely poised nerves and panic set in – Blake struck a boundary but he and Tredwell almost conspired against one another in an almost-suicidal run but both made their ground.

The game was set for a grandstand finish…

Blake who on Friday struggled with the pace of the wicket and unusually didn’t find the boundary showed great composure with the pressure on his shoulders to bring it home and he duly did but not before a delightful shot through the off-side brought up his half-century, coming from fifty-five balls with seven fours.

With two overs remaining Kent’s target was less than a run-a-ball and the significance showed as Tredwell was able to find the single to rotate the strike and put Blake back in the fore.

With eight balls remaining Blake lashed a four through mid-off and in order to retain the strike into the final over he deftly played the ball to third-man.

Kent suddenly required a mere three runs from the final over and were favourites.

Facing, Blake with no run then a single left two needed from four balls but crucially Blake was off the strike.

Tredwell played and missed – Two from three – Tredwell got bat on ball playing it into the ground with Blake deciding it was he who needed the strike and ran, leaving the tail-ender out his ground at the non-strikers end (7, 254/9).

In came Griffiths but most importantly to the non-strikers end – Blake was on strike with two runs required from two balls – But he only needed one as he clubbed a six into the main stand and it was all over – Kent had victory by the narrowest of margins – One wicket – Blake jumping into and punching the air with delight.

Kent: 260/9 (Blake 66*, Bell-Drummond 56, Northeast 47, Denly 38; Meaker 3/47, Batty 3/48)

Surrey: 255/8 (Sangakarra 58, Roy 32, Burns 30, Ansari 30; Tredwell 2/33, Griffiths 2/44, Coles 2/63)

Kent (2pts) beat Surrey (0) by one wicket