Rocky Flintoff became the youngest debutant in Lancashire’s 160-year history when he played against Kent in the Metro-Bank One-Day Trophy but made just 12 in his side’s pulsating five-run defeatat Blackpool. 

Flintoff, who is 16 years 113 days old, faced 28 balls for his dozen runs before he was drawn forward by a leg-spinner from Matt Parkinson and stumped by Harry Finch. And the former Lancashire spinner Parkinson was Kent’s hero when he bowled last man Ollie Sutton in the final over to finish with four for 30 off 8.2 overs.

It had seemed that Keaton Jennings’ third century at Stanley Park this season would enable Lancashire to get home but Kent battled ferociously hard to defend 209 on a tricky wicket and Beyers Swanepoel’s three for 26 off nine overs was another magnificent effort.

Jennings finished unbeaten on 107 off 140 balls with 13 fours and a six.

Harry Finch had top-scored for the visitors with 48 and but Jennings’ one-man effort revived his side after they been struggling on 96 for five in the 30th over Kent managed only 46 runs in their ten Powerplay overs for the loss of Swanepoel, who was caught at cover for 19 off Will Williams.

Joey Evison and Ekansh Singh maintained this modest rate of progress until the 15th over when Evison was called for a single to mid-on by Singh and was run out for 22 by Jack Blatherwick’s accurate throw. 

Debutant Ollie Sutton then took a wicket with his first legal delivery for Lancashire when Singh attempted to cut a very wide delivery but only skied a catch to George Lavelle at point.

However, Sutton’s joy was short-lived. Two balls later, he had to leave the field with a side strain.  

Sutton’s replacement, Josh Bohannon, bowled 5.3 tidy overs of off-spin for 24 runs but left-arm spinner Charlie Barnard took the next wicket, his first in senior cricket, when Jaydn Denly lofted him to long- on and departed for a pleasant 32 that had included five fours. 

Moderately placed on 100 for three at the halfway point of their innings, Kent searched in vain for the substantial partnership that is so often concomitant with acceleration.

Having made 24, Jack Leaning followed Denly’s example in lofting Barnard straight to Green, who then removed Charlie Stobo, caught and bowled for five. Grant Stewart played on to Williams for nine and it was left to Harry Finch and Matt Parkinson to put on 33 in nine overs before Parkinson was run out for 19 and the innings ended in the 49th over when Green had Finch caught by Lavelle at deep midwicket for 48 and Nathan Gilchrist was caught by Jennings at point for two.

Green ended the innings with three for 38, Williams two for 41 and Barnard two for 47. 

Lancashire’s pursuit of 210 began poorly when Swanepoel removed both Bell, caught at slip by Stobo for six, and Bohannon, brilliantly pouched by a diving Evison at cover for five, inside the first eight overs. 

Jennings and Balderson repaired the damage with a stand of 41 in 11 overs but any thought that Lancashire’s pursuit would be straightforward were removed when Stobo removed them both in the space of three balls to leave the home side on 65 for four after 19 overs. 

The Lancashire skipper then put on 31 in 63 balls with Flintoff and then 24 with Green before the Australian was leg before to Parkinson for five.

Jennings was then given stout support from Jack Blatherwick, who lifted Kent skipper Leaning for two huge sixes, and the home side needed 47 off the final ten overs of a compelling contest. 

Swanepoel was recalled and almost immediately caught and bowled Blatherwick for 25 and Parkinson had Williams caught behind with 22 still needed off 26 balls.

Lancashire needed 15 off two overs and Jennings then reached his century with a straight drive to reduce the target to ten off ten. But Barnard was run out for one and Sutton bowled second ball to spark joyous scenes among the visitors.

Kent leg-spinner Matt Parkinson said: “Buzzing is the only word I can use to describe the dressing room at the moment. It’s been a tough few weeks for the lads. The Championship season is not going great and the T20 was the big hope to turn our season around and that didn’t go to plan. 

“To lose a close one at Taunton was gutting but the lads have stuck at it and the environment in fantastic, led very well by Mark Dekker, so to get two points today was fantastic. 

“You never quite know what the pitch is going to be like here. Sometimes it’s flat and it’s 350, other times it’s like it was today. I think we could have got a few more. I don’t think we communicated as well as we could and maybe we could have got to 230-240, but fortunately 209 was enough. 

“I was pretty calm when Jack threw me the ball. We had a plan, we stuck to it and I thought all the bowlers were fantastic to be honest. I’ve bowled the last over a lot to be honest so I didn’t feel too much pressure. I was pleased Ollie Sutton was on strike rather than Jennings after he had nearly killed me when he drilled the ball back at me in the previous over. But I was pretty calm and luckily we got the win.”

Lancashire coach, Dale Benkenstein, said: “Gutted to have lost. It was a great game but I thought we prolonged it a little bit. I thought we could have been more positive in the middle period. 

“They had a good bowling attack so even though we kept them down to a good total there was a period where I felt we could have kept them down to less given the strength of our bowling and the wicket didn’t look great. 

“I was disappointed for Keats who batted through. Even though you only have a small total to chase you still have to play at your own tempo. You still want to be positive, looking to score and that intent can help get you bad balls. If you end up waiting for a bad ball you tend to get out. 

“So there’s a bit of a learning there for us, but it would have been better to learn having got over the line. I feel this is an opportunity for us to have a look at some of our players. That’s why I wanted to play Sutton and Flintoff today. 

“So as much as you lose, I feel that I’m gaining a heck of a lot of giving players opportunities. In the next six games I’m sure we are going to get on the right side of it, learning a lot as we go along. 

“If you do get on a roll, which we have to do soon, you can get some good momentum going into the knockout stages. That is the aim and I do believe we’ve got the team to do it.”