A welcome return to form for Jack Leaning was not enough to prevent Kent Spitfires falling to a second successive Metro Bank One Day Cup defeat on Sunday.
Spitfires never recovered from 25-3 after opting to bat first at Beckenham, with visitors Durham easing to a seven-wicket victory.
Kent opener Jaydn Denly offered a return catch on three to Mitch Killeen’s first ball but he failed to hold on low one-handed.
It didn’t prove costly as Denly clipped straight to Scott Borthwick for six in Killeen’s next over to hand him the first of three wickets.
Joey Evison went for a nine-ball duck, tentatively prodding outside his off-stump to give George Drissell a simple chance and Chris Benjamin, albeit playing with more intent, went the same way for one to leave Kent 25-3 in the eighth over.
It could have been even worse had former Kent wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson not fumbled a simple run out chase when captain Harry Finch was yet to score off the final ball of the powerplay which saw Spitfires limp to 31-3.
Killeen bowled out his 10 overs, returning figures of 3-15 with four maidens. This was not the run-rate normally associated with Beckenham.
Finch and the reliable Ben Compton, who himself had taken eight balls to get off the mark, steadied the ship, albeit runs were hard to come by as the 50-partnership took 102 deliveries.
Finch had hit Paul Coughlin for a leg-side boundary the ball before he also went to a catch at backward point, departing for 28 off 71 balls to leave Spitfires 85-4 in the 28th over.
Ekansh Singh added some much-needed impetus with a couple of lovely shots straight down the ground but Compton was yorked by Will Rhodes for 55 off 83 balls.
Singh was the first batsman to score freely and he was joined by Leaning as they consolidated to reach 149-5 with 10 overs remaining.
Singh dumped Drissell (1-63) back over his head for six but perished trying to repeat the feat, taking the catch at long-on. The youngster departed for 45 off 44 balls.
Luke Robinson (1-43) bowled Mo Rizvi for 17,
Fred Klaassen also fell at backward point, caught by Drissell off Rhodes (2-35) for a duck
Leaning, batting too low at seven, hit South African Codi Yusuf for successive boundaries in the 48th over. He reached his half-century of the summer in the next over from 42 balls as he looked to dominate the strike.
Matt Parkinson took a single off the first ball of the final over and Leaning then hit 13 from the next five balls – being dropped at cover off the last delivery – to finish unbeaten on 68 with Spitfires ending their 50 overs on a modest 238-8. The last 10 overs yielded 89 runs.
Ollie Robinson didn’t experience the same demons that faced the Kent top order, making 26 off 18 balls when opening the innings for Durham before chopping on to give Fred Klaassen his first wicket with Durham 38-1 in the fourth.
With seven wides to assist their cause, the Durham 50 arrived in six overs and they were already well set to chase down Kent’s total.
Mikey Cohen conceded 35 runs from his first four overs, including six wides, before he was replaced by Evison and changed ends but Durham still eased to 71-1 by the end of the powerplay.
Left-handers Rhodes and Emilio Gay took 62 balls to reach a fifty partnership with the latter bringing up his half-century shortly afterwards from 54 balls.
They’d extended the second-wicket stand to 98 when Parkinson had Rhodes trapped leg before for 32 when he missed an attempted sweep, with Durham 136-2 in the 24th over.
Parkinson struck again in his next over when, having been hit for four the previous ball, David Bedingham also went leg before for eight.
Colin Ackermann offered an early chance off Parkinson to Singh at mid-wicket but he never got a hand on the ball.
Gay reached three figures off 91 balls with 11 fours and one six when he tucked Parkinson away for two off his legs in the 32nd over.
It was fitting that Gay finished unbeaten on 119, as Durham cantered home with more than 10 overs to spare.
Spitfires are next in One Day Cup action when they face Warwickshire at Rugby School on Wednesday. They are back at Beckenham next Sunday with Lancashire the visitors.
