Kent Spitfires succumbed at the Quarter Final stage of a limited overs competition for the second time this season losing out in a rain-affected game at The Oval.
But the game ended up much closer than it looked it was going to with an early collapse after the rain-break as Matt Coles struck a List A career-best 100 and was the last man to fall.
In sunny beginnings the hosts won the toss and elected to bat – Something Surrey Lions have done in every game played in the One Day Cup this season.
Put in to field The Spitfires started well as Mitch Claydon and Matt Coles probed Surrey’s opening pair on several occasions with Coles unlucky in his third over not to get in-form Steven Davies (1, 22/0).
The Surrey player edging through first and second slip as The Spitfires’ slip cordon appeared to leave it for one another – The ball running for four.
Surrey brought up their fifty in the ninth over as a shot out to the longest part of the ground square on the off-side as the opening pair unusually ran four.
With the completion of the opening ten-over power-play The Spitfires made the breakthrough.
With Darren Steven’s first ball of the over Jason Roy flailed and mistimed a ball outside off-stump but luckily for the batsman the ball landed safely out to extra cover.
However the next ball Surrey weren’t as lucky as the ball found the edge and the sharp Sam Billings took the catch – Davies sent back to the pavilion (17, 52/1).
At the Pavilion End Matt Hunn proved tough to get away but unfortunately the thirteenth over was unlucky for the youngster putting down an extremely difficult caught and bowled opportunity (Roy, 39, 64/1).
With Jason Roy bringing up his half-century (60b, 8 4s) The Spitfires were in a period of limiting the flow of runs as The Lions gradually enhanced their score.
With the score just shy of one-hundred and the second-wicket partnership shy of following the opening pairs half-century The Spitfires found success.
Spinner James Tredwell was the man as he found taking the pace off the ball work a treat – Sri Lankan talisman Kumar Sangakkara edging to Stevens at first slip (15, 95/2, 20 overs).
A few balls later and Surrey brought up their one-hundred for the loss of two wickets (21.4 overs).
The middle phase of Surrey’s innings was anything but flamboyant as Roy and Rory Burns played simple and effective cricket to keep the scoreboard ticking over regularly.
Despite the lack of thunderous shots by the batsman, and credit to The Spitfires’ bowling in limiting the opportunities, Roy moved onto his century with a boundary pulled through the leg-side (109b, 13 4s).
So much so was the limitation of big hitting to Surrey’s batsmen that the first maximum came in the thirty-fourth over as Roy struck Fabian Cowdrey over the ropes.
In going aerial, Roy didn’t hang around much longer though as Tredwell struck once again – Alex Blake taking a comfortable catch inside the boundary on the leg-side – Roy out for 112, Surrey 192/3.
The Spitfires found a purple-patch and struck soon after – Burns characteristically moving across his stumps, missed a straight one, and Coles opened his account hitting leg-stump (42, 198/4).
The Spitfires had put down their marker and another wicket soon fell as Tredwell took a three-for – Ben Foakes didn’t hang around for long lofting the simplest of balls straight to captain Sam Northeast (4, 204/5).
With the loss of wickets regularly at a critical stage Tredwell finished off his ten-over spell – An excellent spell for The Spitires’ spinner, finishing with figures of 3/47.
Looking to push on The Spitfires didn’t let their hosts get a grip. Although the purple-patch of wickets ended quick runs were not forthcoming for Surrey.
With overs running out The Spitfires benefited – James Burke flashing a Mitch Claydon delivery outside off-stump straight to Fabian Cowdrey at Point (15, 242/6).
With the overs coming to an end The Spitfires blitzed Surrey’s late order but nothing like to the extent of the Trent Bridge epic, but it was close!
In another crazy ending The Spitfires demolished Surrey with four wickets for eight runs in the last nine deliveries.
Coles almost took a hat-trick to accompany that night in Nottingham taking the wickets of Tom Curran (13, 265/7) and Zafar Ansari (35, 265/8) in consecutive balls but Gareth Batty survived the hat-trick ball fending off a straight one.
At the other end Claydon chipped in with the final two as Batty fell to the gloves of Billings (1, 266/9) and Sam Curran, trying a reverse sweep, kindly lofted the ball to Matt Hunn (6, 273ao).
The ending brought about an excellent recovery for The Spitfires reducing Surrey for 273 when earlier 192/2 – Surrey losing eight wickets for eighty-one runs off fifteen overs
In reply The Spitfires got off to the worst possible start as Daniel Bell-Drummond fell early edging to Sangakkara at slip (1, 2/1).
Runs were certainly hard to come by for Kent as Sam Curran opened up not only with the early wicket of Bell-Drummond but bowling two opening over maidens.
Despite Joe Denly letting loose with a couple of early boundaries he holed out somewhat necessarily to the economical Surrey star Sam Curran and straight to Burns at deep square leg (13, 22/2).
With Denly trudging off he ended up leading the players off as the rain fell and fans headed for shelter – The rain delay took the players off the field for eighty minutes.
With darkness looming the players returned and with it a revised target c/o the Duckworth Lewis methodology.
When the rain came Kent found themselves 22/2 needing 251 to win from 42.2 overs (254 balls) at a rate of 5.95.
The revised target of 251 from 40 overs left The Spitfires needing 229 more runs to win from 32.2 overs (194 balls) – A rate of 7.08.
Unfortunately for The Spitfires, they lost early wickets after the restart.
Cowdrey was first to return to the pavilion, clean bowled with his off-stump removed, by Tom Curran (7, 36/3) and captain Sam Northeast soon followed as he swiped at and misses a straight one (23, 49/4).
With Darren Stevens and Sam Billings at the crease the tall run chase seemed achievable however not long after Northeast’s wicket Billings was out – Stumped by Foakes off the bowling of Ansari (3, 49/5).
Kent were now in serious trouble after significant early setbacks in the run-chase after the break but in Stevens and now Alex Blake The Spitfires still had hope.
Looking to score swiftly in a way shown previously, Blake sweetly hit a reverse sweep for six but sadly succumbed a ball later caught in close by Roy (17, 73/6).
Stevens brought up The Spitfires hundred with a well-struck six in front of the pavilion and in turn the target was now 150 from 20 overs – Manageable in the short form of the game but the visitors running out of wickets and support
To emphasise the issue with wickets the first ball of the next over saw Tredwell lose his place in the middle – edging to Foakes behind the stumps (3, 101/7).
With some fine stroke-play Stevens and Matt Coles gave The Spitfires something to cling on to as the pair put on The Spitfires’ largest partnership of the innings.
With the pair lowering the required total to perhaps below one hundred Stevens wafted at a ball outside off-stump and could only edge it, The Spitfires losing their eighth wicket (37, 140/8).
Any faint hope probably left the field with Stevens – It was a great effort by him and Coles in trying conditions and a difficult situation with the run chase and associated rate required.
Coles brought the required figure to under one-hundred as he clubbed a four over the bowlers head and followed it with a six halfway into the OCS stand on leg-side.
Unfortunately for The Spitfires there was too much for the lower end to do and get as Mitch Claydon was clean bowled (4, 169/9) leaving a solitary wicket to score the remaining runs.
With ten overs remaining an entertaining Coles innings brought the target down to eighty-two needed – With wickets in hand it would have been feasible, but not tonight.
Coles continued to bludgeon the ball around the ground and reaped full reward as a big six towards the pavilion brought up his half century and a personal milestone with a List A best score – Coming from 38 balls with 5 fours and 4 sixes.
The Kent all-rounder survived a scare on 54 as a leg-side shot out to the boundary was caught but with the fielder close to the rope and still falling backwards, Cole was reprieved with the ball dropped to save the runs.
Coles, with his eye in and the field spread far and wide clubbed two sixes in a Jade Dernbach over which helped to bring The Spitfires over two-hundred and to within fifty of the required total.
With six overs to go, The Spitfires now only needed forty-nine runs off the remaining thirty-six deliveries.
The pressure telling on the hosts bowlers, Burke bowled a high and wide full toss – a no ball and free hit – which Coles duly despatched into the back of the stand for six more.
Coles was seeing the ball big now. Protecting Hunn at the other end so well, Coles was taking the bowling apart clubbing sixes all around and Kent were suddenly in with a serious chance of victory.
With Kent requiring twenty from eighteen balls, Coles took the single and with it a tremendous century off seventy-one deliveries with seven fours and nine sixes – A fantastic effort in exceptional circumstances.
It wasn’t to be for The Spitfires though as Coles, looking to hit the ball into the stand once more, could only hit the ball high into the night sky losing his wicket and out for a brilliant one-hundred.
What an effort by all-rounder – In the end losing his wicket with the forlorn and lonely figure falling to his knees.
Surrey Lions: JJ Roy, SM Davies, KC Sangakkara, BT Foakes†, RJ Burns, ZS Ansari, JE Burke, SM Curran, TK Curran, GJ Batty*, JW Dernbach
Kent Spitfires: DJ Bell-Drummond, JL Denly, SA Northeast*, FK Cowdrey, DI Stevens, SW Billings†, AJ Blake, MT Coles, JC Tredwell, ME Claydon, MD Hunn
Surrey Lions: 273 (Roy 112, Burns 42; Tredwell 3/47, Coles 3/48, Claydon 3/62)
Kent Spitfires: 233 (Coles 100, Stevens 37; T Curran 3/22, S Curran 2/34, Ansari 2/39)
Surrey won by 17 runs on the D/L method.