Kent Spitfires kept their hopes of reaching the Vitality Blast quarter-finals alive after beating Middlesex by seven wickets on Sunday.
Spitfires need to win against Essex at Canterbury on Friday and hope other results go their way in the South Group.
Kent were again without Daniel Bell-Drummond (hamstring) and Tom Rogers was ruled out with a shoulder injury but Grant Stewart returned from international duty with Italy.
Fred Klaassen (3-39) struck with his third ball, bowling Stephen Eskinazi for two.
Nathan Gilchrist (0-23) bowled a maiden to New Zealand’s Kane Williamson in the fourth over before Klaassen switched ends to remove Ben Geddes, finding the diving Harry Finch in the covers for 22 off 15 balls.
Williamson struggled to seven off 17 balls before giving Jack Leaning a return catch off his first ball, leaving Middlesex 43-3 in the eighth over.
Three imaginative boundaries from Leus du Plooy in Leaning’s next over saw Middlesex reach 68-3 at the halfway stage.
Du Plooy hit two straight sixes off Parkinson’s next over, prompting a return to pace bowling but Gilchrist’s first ball was beautifully played through the covers for four.
From 54-9 after nine overs, the innings was in danger of getting away from the Spitfires at an alarming rate.
Du Plooy pulled Evison through mid-wicket to bring up his fifty from 29 balls with seven fours and two sixes.
After a lengthy delay, du Plooy then gave Klaassen a chance on 54 off Leaning but he was unable to hold on, rushing in from mid-on.
A stand of 68 came to an end when Stewart bowled Ryan Higgins for 19, leaving the visitors 111-4 in the 15th over.
Leaning dropped a well-struck return chance from Joe Cracknell off his final ball, leaving him with figures of 1-32 in four overs.
The safe hands of Finch on the cover boundary finally removed du Plooy for 68 off 45 balls to give Klaassen his third wicket in the 18th over.
Some lusty blows from Cracknell, who finished 24 not out off 15 balls, ensured Middlesex posted what looked like a challenging total of 160-5.
After a slow start to their reply, Spitfires got motoring in the fifth over as Finch benefited from a change of ends for Tom Helm, including one six over deep backward square leg.
That got Tawanda Muyeye into the groove at the other end – Josh Little’s first over costing 20 – and Kent reached 59-0 by the end of the powerplay.
Finch’s enterprising innings of 36 off 28 balls came to an end when he gave Zafar Gohar a comfortable return catch, Spitfires 66-1 in the eighth over.
Joe Denly hit his second ball for a straight six off Gohar and the momentum continued as Spitfires eased relatively untroubled to 92-1 at the halfway stage.
Muyeye put his recent run of low scores behind him to reach his half-century off 27 balls with three sixes and three fours.
At the other end, Denly timed the ball particularly well. There’s a calmness about Spitfires’ batting when the veteran former England international is at the crease.
Kent needed 32 off the last five overs but then lost Muyeye, caught by the backpedalling du Plooy at mid-off off Higgins for 59 from 41 balls.
Skipper Sam Billings hit successive boundaries off the expensive Little (0-44) as Spitfires looked to improve their poor run-rate.
Denly was emphatically bowled by Tom Helm for 46 off 31 balls with Kent needing just two more runs to win.
They duly completed the victory with 11 balls to spare, Billings hitting Higgins for a six to finish 20 not out off seven balls.
