Kent Spitfires kept their slim hopes of a NatWest T20 Blast quarter-final place alive with a pulsating victory against Sussex Sharks at Hove on Friday night.

With both sides in the bottom half of the T20 Blast South Group, the match acted as something of a knockout, with either team knowing that defeat ended any hopes they may have had of progressing to the next round.

It was the Spitfires who came out on top, as Alex Blake starred with the bat, making a fantastic unbeaten 53 from just 32 balls, and the bowling attack performing superbly, as Kent completed a three-run win in a game that went down to the very final few deliveries.

Blake hit the second half-century of his T20 career as the majority of the rest of the batting order failed; Kent recovering to make 149-9 in their 20 overs, having been 80-6 after 14.

In reply, the Spitfire attack tied the home side down excellently early on, both keeping it tight and chipping away with wickets, before a late charge looked like giving Sussex a sniff of victory. As it was, Kent held out, with Ben Harmison (3-32) the pick of the bowlers, and James Tredwell (2-12) and Fabian Cowdrey (2-28) also outstanding with the ball in hand in their four-over stints.

After losing the toss and being asked to bat on an overcast and muggy south-coast evening, Kent’s batting lineup struggled through the majority of their 20-over allocation.

Daniel Bell-Drummond made 34 as only four batsmen even reached double figures, with Will Beer (3-18) and Steffan Piolet (1-17) doing a superb job of taking pace off the ball and tying the Spitfires down in the middle part of their innings.

Rob Key looked in good nick before falling for 11 in the third over, while Sam Northeast (5), Fabian Cowdrey (3) and Sam Northeast (1) all struggled to make telling contributions with bat in hand.

After a decent enough powerplay, in which 45 runs were put on the board, Kent crawled along to 61-4 after 10 overs and 80-6 after 14, before Blake really started to provide the innings with some impetus.

Adam Ball (13) and James Tredwell (9) also provided short, useful cameos towards the back-end of the innings in support of the left-handed Blake, but it was the 17th over which really proved key – an over bowled by England star Chris Jordan, of all people.

The right-arm seamer sent down a series of wayward deliveries, including no-balls and wides, in an over that eventually cost his side 24 runs; Blake hitting two sixes off the final two deliveries – a no-ball and the resulting free hit.

The 25-year-old’s innings was lit up by his five maximums, to go with a solitary four, and it was largely down to him that Kent were able to post an at-all competitive total of 149-9, setting the hosts what still appeared to be a relatively manageable 150 to win.

In defending that total, Kent’s bowling display was, for long periods, magnificent – as impressive as many will have seen it for much of this season.

The importance of keeping it tight early on could not be understated, and that was just what they did, with Ben Harmison brought into the attack for the third over and delivering a game-changing six balls.

28-year-old Harmison has been largely unused as a bowler since joining Kent in 2012, but he showcased his ability tonight, bowling a top-class double-wicket maiden as he picked up the scalps of Sharks’ skipper Chris Nash (6) and Luke Wells (0); Nash excellently held on the square-leg boundary by Adam Ball.

Sussex dangerman Luke Wright was put by Darren Stevens off his own bowling in the sixth over when he had made just 14, but James Tredwell made sure that the drop would also cost his side three runs when he brilliantly bowled him just eight balls later with a delivery which gripped and spun off the pitch.

The impressive Fabian Cowdrey bowled the home side’s debutant batsman Craig Cachopa for 11 with an excellent quicker delivery, before having Matt Machan caught by Blake on the boundary for 4, leaving Sussex 43-5 at the halfway stage of their innings, and Kent well on top.

This was where the Sharks’ attempted comeback started; the fact that they added a further 103 runs in the remaining 10 overs showing just how good a go they made of their attempt.

Ben Brown and Chris Jordan added 51 for the sixth wicket in 5.2 overs, although when Brown (33) and Yasir Arafat (3) were dismissed in relatively quick time, it looked once again like Kent were firmly in control.

Brown was excellently caught by a tumbling Cowdrey in the deep off Adam Ball, while Arafat was Tredwell’s second victim of the night as the England limited-overs spinner completed a well-taken caught and bowled chance.

Tredwell is currently playing for tonight’s opposition in the County Championship as part of his loan deal, but this evening he performed wonderfully for his parent club, his four overs costing just 12 runs, along with the two vital wickets. 

Will Beer came in and smashed 25 from 12 before playing on to Harmison in the penultimate over, with Sussex going into the final one, bowled by Mitch Claydon, needing 17 from it to complete what would have been a stunning victory.

They still had the ever-dangerous Jordan at the crease and on strike at the time with 29 already to his name; all of the supporters around the County Ground at Hove on the edge of their seats.

After a wide was given first up, followed by two runs, the target came down to 14 from five. Claydon held his nerve, sending down two dot balls that Jordan couldn’t lay a bat on, before he smashed a massive six over the covers to leave eight runs needed from the final two balls.

Fingernails were being well and truly chewed as Jordan went after the penultimate ball, sending it towards the deep where Ben Harmison rounded off an excellent evening by taking a superb sliding catch in the outfield; Jordan departing for a fantastic, 26-ball 37.

The final ball of the innings was hit for four, but it mattered little to the Spitfires who celebrated a dramatic, three-run win that keeps their slim hopes of a quarter-final place alive.

They know they must still win all three of their remaining group games to have any chance of progressing, starting tomorrow afternoon, when they take on the Essex Eagles at Colchester.

For now, though, they leave Hove celebrating an excellent victory that is sure to serve as one of the highlights of their season when they look back on the 2014 campaign.

 

Sussex Sharks vs. Kent Spitfires, NatWest T20 Blast, South Group, The County Ground, Hove, 11 June 2014:

Kent Spitfires 149-9 (Blake 53 not out; Beer 3-18, Arafat 3-32) beat Sussex Sharks (Jordan 37; Harmison 3-32, Tredwell 2-12, Cowdrey 2-28) by 3 runs

 

Sussex Sharks: Wright, Nash*, Wells, Cachopa, Machan, Brown†, Jordan, Beer, Arafat, Piolet, Hatchett

Kent Spitfires: Key*, Bell-Drummond, Northeast, Cowdrey, Stevens, Blake, Billings†, Ball, Harmison, Tredwell, Claydon

Sussex Sharks won the toss and elected to bowl

 

Points: Sussex Sharks 0, Kent Spitfires 2

Full scorecard available here

Pictures supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com