There was a big victory for Kent Spitfires as they ended a Vitality T20 Blast season to forget in strong fashion against Surrey at Canterbury on Friday night.
While both teams’ respective positions in the South group had already been confirmed, Spitfires gave their fans something to cheer about in front of a packed crowd for just their second home win in the competition to at least ease some of the pressure on head coach Matt Walker and his players.
A devastating 108-run opening stand between Tawanda Muyeye and Daniel Bell-Drummond guided them towards 217-5 before spinner Matt Parkinson returned Spitfires’ best figures as Surrey were skittled for 131.
There was glorious sunshine at The Spitfire Ground but basement boys Kent’s T20 campaign had been more of a damp squib than anything akin to a warmer climate – until now.
Group winners Surrey, who brought batsman Dan Lawrence into the side, won the toss and bowled first while Kent named an unchanged team from their one which suffered a rain-affected defeat to Glamorgan.
Bell-Drummond clipped Matt Dunn (2-40) to the legside boundary off the first ball of the second over and the Kent opening batsman repeated the feat three balls later in similar style in a sign of things to come.
Muyeye thumped Will Jacks (0-24) for a big six which cleared the Frank Woolley stand. He was understood to become just the third Kent player to achieve the feat in a T20 game – following in the footsteps of West Indian Carlos Brathwaite and Australian Marcus Stoinis.
Bell-Drummond and Muyeye were certainly finding their stride this time, the former sending Jacks for successive fours.
Their score jumped to 64-0 after the powerplay as Muyeye took Tom Lawes (1-53) to the cleaners. He dinked him for six and followed up with three more sumptuous boundaries – one again behind square, followed by two drives.
Bell-Drummond then clipped Dunn for a maximum at the start of the seventh over and Muyeye finished the same over with a drive through the covers to the fence.
Even the introduction of England player Lawrence’s spin (1-14) could not prevent Bell-Drummond bringing up his half-century from 32 balls in the ninth over.
And another big hit by Muyeye meant Spitfires were 108-0 at the halfway point.
But from the next ball, Bell-Drummond was caught in great style for 58 by Lawes off Dunn’s bowling. Lawes scampered around to take a tumbling catch on the legside boundary to end Kent’s fine stand.
Nevertheless, Muyeye moved to his 50 in 25 balls with a single in the same over.
Spitfires supporters’ fun continued in the 12th over through another Muyeye maximum, two reverse-swept fours from Sam Billings and another straight four by Kent’s captain.
Muyeye did eventually go, though. He was bowled by Lawes for his eye-catching 61 off 31 balls to leave the home side 135-2.
But it hadn’t been a night Lawes will remember fondly with the ball, which saw his third over conclude with consecutive fours.
Billings heaved Dunn for six but the away bowler had Spitfires’ skipper caught by Cameron Steel for 37 from 17 balls to leave them 162-3 at the 15-over mark.
Surrey’s fielding remained on-point, however, as Jamie Overton became the latest to take a fine boundary catch – this one dismissing Marcus O’Riordan for six from Steel’s spin (1-47) – before Australian overseas Tom Rogers was bowled for a second-ball duck by Lawrence.
Kent’s earlier momentum had been checked until vice-captain Jack Leaning fired Surrey skipper Chris Jordan (0-35) for consecutive fours in the 18th over.
All-rounder Joey Evison got in on the act through a six against Lawes, followed by a quick two at the end of the over, which brought the hosts past the 200-run mark.
Few are more experienced than Jordan when it comes to death bowling, although even he was crunched for legside sixes by Leaning off the first and final ball of the last over to reach 33 not out from 17 balls.
The total was Spitfires’ highest home one against Surrey, with Evison unbeaten on 15 from nine balls.
Chasing a mammoth score, the visitors knew they had their work cut out if they were to head into the T20 Blast knockout stages on the back of a win.
Jacks and Dom Sibley gave them a bright start as the latter scooped Rogers (0-23) for six.
But Kent got an early breakthrough through Nathan Gilchrist (1-13). After successive fours, Jacks attempted to scoop Gilchrist over Billings again, only to see his stumps get castled to leave Surrey 36-1 from three overs.
Stand-in wicketkeeper Rory Burns picked up where Jacks left off before Sibley struck a flick off his legs so sweetly he managed to pick out Leaning on the legside boundary from Jas Singh’s bowling (3-27) as he went for 20 from 11 balls.
But Surrey were firmly up with the run-rate at this stage, 64-2 after the powerplay.
Next to go was Lawrence. He picked out substitute fielder Harry Finch at cow-corner from Leaning’s bowling (2-28) for 17 in the eighth over, with Spitfires turning to spin, and Burns picked out Finch in similar style within the next over, bowled for 21 by O’Riordan (1-15).
It was always going to be too little, too late, in the context of their T20 term but Kent moved another stride towards a morale-boosting victory in the 11th over.
Former Minster batsman Laurie Evans was only able to slice Parkinson (3-23) to Gilchrist for four while Overton was bowled by Leaning when he attempted a huge swipe to leave them 97-6.
Parkinson claimed his second scalp of the night when Jordan could only send his spin to Muyeye on the boundary for six from five balls, two of the spinners then combining for Sam Curran – a day on from a T20 century – to hole out to Leaning from Parkinson’s bowling for 24 to leave the away team 116-8.
The dismissal of Lawes, caught behind by Billings off Singh, left Kent on the brink and Singh ended things in the 16th over. Dunn picked out O’Riordan for six.
Kent now turn their attention to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup campaign, which starts against Somerset at Taunton next Friday, while Surrey will play Durham in their T20 Quarter-Final.
