Kent Spitfires suffered their third successive Vitality Blast defeat, losing by four wickets to Notts Outlaws on Friday.
The hosts posted 184-7 thanks to another half-century from skipper Sam Billings.
But George Munsey’s 82 not out guided Notts home with eight balls to spare despite Matt Milnes’ 3-30.
Billings said: “We’re getting ourselves into games of cricket and the lapses of concentration, I think three dropped catches maybe, two no balls that have gone for boundaries and as it’s Munsey that’s probably 40 runs. No one means to (do that) but that’s probably the difference.
“We’re playing six out of ten cricket and getting punished really. Matt Milnes has just been outstanding in every single game, he just gets better and better, he really is quality. Fred Klaassen bowled nicely tonight, all the guys chipped in but it was just those little moments like starting your over and not going for a boundary.
“We had enough on the board I thought, as it showed with those wickets, but it just came down to those fine margins again. George Munsey is one of the best players of spin, he is very hard to bowl to. Jake’s been outstanding and this was his first bad game. It can happen in this format but he’s still been our best bowler by a mile.
“I had to take a gamble with Joe Denly to try and get an over in. Without six front line bowlers, you’re kind of struggling for those overs. You had to be quite cute and sometimes it comes off and sometimes it doesn’t.”
This was the first time these sides had met since a quarter-final at Trent Bridge in 2007, when Kent went on to win the competition.
Notts chose to bowl and Mohammad Amir, signed the previous day, had Harry Finch lbw to the second ball of the evening.
Zak Crawley hit 27 from 21 balls, but was out to the final ball of the powerplay, hitting Mohammad Ali to Freddie McCann at square leg, while Daniel Bell-Drummond looked good until he hit Ollie Stone to Jack Haynes at mid-wicket for 37 – his highest Blast score so far this summer.
Billings survived an umpire review. He hit Liam Patterson-White for six over cover, then hit him right to the boundary but Stone was ruled to have touched the rope before he shovelled the ball to George Linde.
Billings hit the next ball for six, but Kent lost Joe Denly for 18, stumped off Patterson-White to leave them 137-3 at the end of the 14th over.
That quickly became 142-5 when Chris Benjamin was bowled by Benny Howell for four. Grant Stewart edged Stone but wicketkeeper Tom Moores couldn’t take a difficult, diving chance.
Stewart hit a six off Amir that broke a window before he was caught behind off the same bowler for 22 off 13. Billings went for 64 off 38 balls in the final over, skying Ali to Moores. Spitfires only added 40 off the last five overs and 11 from the last two of their innings.
Notts opener Joe Clarke hit three successive fours off Keith Dudgeon (1-43) at the start of the fifth over, but then hit him to Crawley at mid-wicket for 24.
Milnes then had Haynes caught behind for one but Munsey was crucially spilt by Stewart off Fred Klaassen (1-22) at short fine leg on just six.
After a quiet powerplay, Munsey reverse-swept Jake Lintott for successive sixes. Freddie McCann hit 25 from 16 until he drilled Joe Denly to Milnes at cover, leaving Notts 79-3 from nine overs.
The 13th over was a killer, Munsey hitting 20 off Lintott (0-43 off three), who changed ends but didn’t experience a change of fortune.
Kent’s hopes flickered when Milnes got two wickets in three balls. Moores went for 20, caught by Bell-Drummond again at cover, before he bowled George Linde for one.
Fred Klaassen then splayed Benny Howell’s off-stump for two, leaving Notts 146-6 in the 16th over.
Patterson-White almost took Bell-Drummonds hands off. If that had stuck Kent might have had a chance, but Munsey hit the next ball, a no-ball, for six.
Needing 13 off the last two, Patterson-White pulled Milnes for six into the third floor of the retirement flats, before Munsey, fittingly, clinched it with an astonishing blow over mid-wicket.
Report via ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
