Kent Spitfires skipper Sam Billings felt his side lacked “smartness” after suffering their second Vitality Blast group stage defeat on Sunday.
Spitfires were beaten by seven wickets at Hove by Sussex Sharks after again faltering with the bat, posting a total of just 133-8 after being put into bat. They lost three wickets in the first four overs – and never really recovered.
Billings said: “We got behind the eight-ball, as we did against Essex. We struggled in the powerplay and lost wickets. We had a bit of bad luck.
“It was tough going. We probably lacked a little bit of smartness through the middle overs. We could have got up to 140, 150 even 160. I think if we got 160, we would have been right in the game.
“It wasn’t quite there with the bat and we were always fighting against that. We made a positive start with the ball, with Dudgeon getting a quick wicket in the first over.
“We felt we had wrestled back a bit of momentum now and again but then we let it go again. It was disappointing today.”
Spitfires had no answer to Sussex’s new-ball bowler Sean Hunt, who took 3-9 in four overs at the start of the innings.
His figures were the third most economical by a Sussex bowler after Robin Martin-Jenkins and current bowling coach James Kirtley, who both achieved their figures against Hampshire in 2004.
Hunt gave Sussex a wonderful start with a double wicket maiden in only the third over of the match. First, he removed Daniel Bell-Drummond’s (2) middle stump with a ball that shaped in and may have kept a little low.
Four balls later, he had Zak Crawley caught by Tom Alsop at backward point for a duck.
In the next over, Billings was caught by Hunt at short fine-leg for a duck off Tymal Mills. At the end of the powerplay, Kent were 33-3.
Then Hunt took his third wicket when former Sussex man Harry Finch was caught at mid-off for 27 to make it 34-4, and Spitfires were only 51-4 at the halfway stage.
Joe Denly and Chris Benjamin added fifty runs for the fifth wicket before Benjamin (22) was caught by Hunt at short fine-leg off former Kent man Jack Leaning for 22. It was 87-6 when Hunt caught Grant Stewart for two off Danny Briggs at backward point.
Denly went for 42 off 34 balls to leave Kent 106-7 at the end of the 17th over. Some late blows by Keith Dudgeon (29 not out off 19 balls) ensured Sussex were chasing 134 to win.
Dudgeon (2-24) trapped Harrison Ward leg before for a second-ball duck but John Simpson gave the innings impetus with seven fours in his 33 before Dudgeon took his second wicket before the end of the powerplay.
However, Dan Hughes, supported by Leaning and then Oli Carter, played the anchor role with a 37-ball 41 not out to see his side home comfortably. Leaning made 21 before he fell to Matt Milnes but the Spitfires never looked like defending their meagre total.
Report via ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
