A STUNNING stroke that flew fully 75 yards and clear out of The Grange Cricket Club ground in Edinburgh set apart the men from the boys as Kent, inspired by an excellent all-round display by Darren Stevens, swept aside the Scottish Saltires by 93 runs.

The course of the totesport League Division 2 clash was turned Kent’s way by Stevens’ display of power hitting that helped Kent leap from 140 for four to an ultimately impressive and very defendable total of 227 for six.

For the second time in a week Kent skipper David Fulton, as he had in Salisbury last Tuesday, lost the toss only to be asked to bat first on a sluggish and somewhat suspect club pitch.

Shot making was tough against the new ball as Queenslander Paul Hoffman and later the impressive Craig Wright, with one for 26, nibbled the ball around off the seam.

Kent’s openers took five overs to open the boundary account, but with only 35 on the board Geraint Jones (18) was wrapped on the pad by a shooting off-cutter from Hoffmann that trapped him leg before.

Key (30) looked in the mood to bat through the innings in taking the score on to 68, but he too was undone by the lack of pace in the pitch and skied a catch after top-edging a pull shot.

Spitfires’ Mr Consistency Martin van Jaarsveld scored his customary half-century from 66 balls, but had blotted his copybook by running out Matt Walker (1) after a mix-up over a potential single to Fraser Watts at extra cover.

The South African put the error to the back of his mind to hit five fours in a steady 66-ball half-century only to chop on against the fourth ball of a new spell from Edinburgh newsagent Asim Butt.

And, when Fulton went for 29 by edging an attempted run-down shot, it appeared as though Kent would struggle to post 175 only for Stevens and Michael Carberry to put on a late show of pyrotechnics that got Kent out of the cart.

It was Butt who took the full force firstly from the City End where he over-pitched allowing Stevens to clip one into the tennis courts behind the deep mid-wicket boundary.

Butt switched to the Rugby Park End, but received even more harsh treatment with a well-timed drive from Carberry then a sumptuous back-foot force from Stevens that sailed out of the ground.

With 227 to protect, Kent’s bowlers then put in a thoroughly professional performance with the ball to nip in the bud any repeat of their narrow escape against Cheltenham and Gloucester Trophy minnows Wiltshire.

Martin Saggers, rightly restored to new ball duties, had Douglas Lockhart well caught at point by Walker then, in the next over, Amjad Khan struck with his sixth ball by snaring Watts leg before.

Watts, batting with attacking intent and keen to get on the front foot, was pushed onto the back foot as Khan sent down five short ones only to trap him leg before with a fuller-length sixth delivery.

To ensure the man-of-the-match award would be his, Stevens then picked up the ball to claim the scalps of Jonathan Beukes, Colin Smith, Ryan Watson, Yasir Arafat and Majid Haq to bag five for 32 in his nine overs of nagging medium-pacers.

Rain showers twice interrupted the Saltires reply, but Kent and Stevens were not to be denied their win as Scotland were shot out for 134 in a shade over 32 overs.

“It wasn’t the easiest pitch in the world to score quickly on but their bowlers played into my hands a little at the death there,” said Stevens after his first one-day 50 for the club.

“When they started bowling a fuller length I just set myself as far back in the crease as I dared and backed myself to clear the cover fielders.

“I think my 88 in the championship against Warwickshire was technically a better knock, but that said, I had a job to do here to get us to a decent score and I achieved that without taking risks which was pleasing in itself.”