Kent Spitfires suffered their second Vitality Blast defeat in the space of three days at Essex on Tuesday night.
A promising start with the ball was not backed up in the second half of Essex’s innings as the hosts reached 187-6.
Spitfires were reduced to 61-4 with the bat before late drama saw them reach 184-9 and lose by just three runs in the end.
Spitfires skipper Sam Billings won the toss and elected to field first after naming an unchanged team.
Kent struck in the third over when Matt Milnes’ first delivery from the Graham Gooch end forced a checked drive from Michael Pepper on six.
Jordan Cox, batting at three, hit three successive boundaries to end the fourth over from Keith Dudgeon against his former club.
Cox had a reprieve when he appeared to be run out on 17 in the fifth over at the non-striker’s end. Bowler Fred Klaassen touched Paul Walter’s drive onto the stumps and Cox was short of his ground. But the third umpire ruled Klaassen had not touched the ball.
Milnes struck again in the final over of the powerplay when Walter (17) sliced high to Daniel Bell-Drummond, who took a good catch, as Essex reached 43-2 after six overs.
Cox hit Joe Denly for a six over long-on and was dangerously poised on 34 off 23 with Essex 71-2 at the halfway stage.
Not to be outdone, Charlie Allison hit a couple of excellent boundaries on the up before planting Jake Lintott over long-on for a maximum as Essex looked to press the accelerator.
Lintott went for 28 off his four overs, amazingly the most expensive return so far during his impressive loan spell from Warwickshire.
Cox had another let-off when he hit Stewart over his head and between four fielders, but his luck ran out when he pulled Stewart to Milnes (3-23) at deep square leg to depart for 40, with Essex 100-3 in the 14th over.
Klaassen (1-48) removed Luc Benkenstein for five, caught by Lintott at long-on but Allison’s fifty soon came up off 36 balls with a six over square leg off Dudgeon. It proved an expensive over for Dudgeon, who took some punishment from fellow South African Wiaan Mulder.
Mulder made 29 off 11 before he found Denly on the cover boundary off Milnes in the penultimate over, having put on 49 in just 3.3 overs with Allison.
Dudgeon (1-54) was given the last over of the innings but the brilliant Allison hit successive sixes before holing out to wide long-off from the final ball of the innings for a career-best 74 off 47 balls – his third successive half-century in the competition.
The hosts hit 72 off the last five overs to close their innings on an imposing 187-6.
Mulder damaged his shoulder fielding the second ball of Kent’s reply but it was the visitors soon feeling the pain as Bell-Drummond (2) sliced Charlie Bennett to Allison in the second over.
Harry Finch hit Bennett for a six at the start of his next over but then miscued the next ball high to Zaman Akhter to depart for 13, leaving Spitfires 21-2 in the fourth.
Crawley hit Mulder for successive boundaries but was put down at mid-on by Mulder off Akhter on 18 in the final over of the powerplay, Spitfires reaching 46-2 in six overs.
Billings hit Simon Harmer for six in his first over to bring up the Kent fifty but Crawley was caught on the mid-wicket boundary off Akhter (3-19) for 21 off 15, leaving them 58-3 in the eighth.
Denly chipped Matt Critchley to long-off on just one in the next over and Spitfires had plenty of work to do at 61-4.
They were 72-4 at the halfway stage, with Billings unbeaten on 27, still needing a further 116 to win.
Benjamin hit Critchley for six before Billings took on Harmer, hitting two fours and a six in one over as Spitfires tried to keep up with the required rate. Billings’ half-century came off 34 balls, but he needed to bat deep if Kent were going to get over the line.
Billings pulled Mulder for six behind square and then drove him for another maximum over long-off. But, in the same over, the Spitfires skipper tried to hit Mulder over deep square but could only find the safe hands of Shane Snater, departing on 62 with Spitfires 119-5 in the 14th over.
Chris Benjamin went three balls later for 16, Benkenstein producing a terrific juggling catch on the mid-wicket boundary, and any lingering hopes Kent had probably went with him.
Dudgeon delivered a couple of lusty blows off Bennett to leave Spitfires needing 50 off the last four overs.
A direct throw by Harmer at mid-off ran out Dudgeon for 15 to leave Kent 141-7 before Stewart hit the final ball of Mulder’s over for the biggest six of the night.
Stewart went in the next, caught by Harmer at long-off, for 13 and Milnes followed to another catch in the deep for one.
Klaassen hit successive sixes off Snater – taking the tally for the evening to 19 – and Spitfires needed 18 from the final over to take an unlikely victory.
Lintott hit the first ball of Bennett’s over for four over fine leg and then edged the second ball to the boundary. Kent needed 10 off four balls.
A dot ball followed before Lintott took a single, leaving Klaassen needing nine off the last two balls. The penultimate ball saw Klaassen take a single, meaning Lintott’s boundary off the last ball was largely academic.
