Kent captain Sam Northeast could not hide his disappointment after the Spitfires suffered a 50-run T20 humbling at Essex Eagles on Friday night.

It was a sixth defeat in nine NatWest T20 Blast South Group games and left Kent second-bottom of a group they topped last season and likely to need at least four more wins, if not all their last five games to secure a return to the knockout stages.

The visitors were undone by an unbroken 131 run stand between Ravi Bopara and Ashar Zaidi which took up the final 10.2 overs and propelled the hosts from 73-3 to set Kent an imposing victory target of 205.

Northeast admitted: "The demons of how we have been playing in the past came back to haunt us. The right and left-hand combination did for us. Things are not going well for us at the moment.

"We conceded too many runs at the death. That is normally something we are good at, but it hasn’t happened.

"I thought we could get it at the start, but people were constantly getting out at the wrong time and there was a bit of a lack of intent at times. It was a disappointing display."

He added: "The number of times you chase down 200 is pretty rare. You’d like to be chasing a little less than that. It was a seriously short boundary, but I should think we should have done better. There are a lot of things to look at. We’re a little bit short in certain areas.

"if we perform like we did (in Thursday night's win over Sussex) then we can go through to the knockout stages. There is a lot of cricket still to be played.”

Bopara continued his fine form against Kent as he hammered six sixes in an unbeaten 81 to lead Essex to their third successive T20 victory.

The Essex captain, who also posted 74 not out when the teams met in the Royal London Cup last month, hit two maximums off Mitch Claydon in the final over of the innings and also ht six fours in his 43-run knock.

Zaidi finished unbeaten on 54 off 33 balls with five fours and three sixes.

Kent had actually made a perfect start after putting the hosts in as Jesse Ryder went fir a third-ball duck, beaten for pace by newboy Kagiso Rabada and edging to Sam Billings.

After the departure of Ryder, the Essex innings was sparked into action by Tom Westley and Kishen Velani.

Westley drove Rabada through the covers two balls into his innings and pulled another boundary through midwicket when the young South African dropped one short.

Velani was no less punishing, twice giving himself room to chop Claydon through the covers and then greeting Ivan Thomas with a controlled, lofted edge to third man for another four.

The second-wicket partnership had put on 42 in 4.5 overs when the pair collided midwicket chasing a second run and Velani failed to beat Northeast’s throw to Billings.

Bopara had just deposited James Tredwell over cow corner for six when, two balls later, the spinner held a sharp caught-and-bowled chance to dismiss Westley for 33 from 31 balls.

Bopara’s second six, swept over midwicket, ruined Fabian Cowdrey’s figures. The spinner’s first three overs had gone for 13, but his last went for 14.

Bopara and Zaidi passed fifty in five overs together when Bopara got an inside edge for four that left Thomas hitting the ground in frustration.

It didn’t not get any better for Thomas as Bopara hit the last two balls of his spell for a straight, flat six and then paddled a four to reach his personal fifty off 32 balls.

Bopara’s fourth six, clouting Rabada over his head brought up the hundred partnership for the fourth wicket inside 10 overs.

Zaidi reached his fifty off 33 balls from a loose full-toss by Claydon which was sent towering over midwicket. The bowler received similar treatment by Bopara who hit his fifth and sixth sixes off the same over.

The reply got off to an inauspicious start when Joe Denly departed for a first-ball duck when he was beaten by Paul Walter for his first senior wicket for Essex.

But Kent were soon hitting sixes for fun themselves. Dan Lawrence went for two in an over, Tom Latham hooking the first over midwicket and another straight. Northeast then eased Matt Quinn over cow corner as Kent reached 49 off the first five overs.

But from the first ball of the next over, Northeast swished at Graham Napier and was caught behind.

Since Napier had taken two Surrey wickets with his last two deliveries at the Oval on Saturday, it meant he had taken a hat-trick, albeit six days apart. He then had Latham caught by Ryder backward of square.

Billings did not last much longer, run out by a direct hit from Ryder in the middle of a maiden over from Ryan ten Doeschate.

Stevens also fell to another direct-hit run-out as Bopara fielded off his own bowling before Alex Blake was caught by ten Doeschate on his knees at long-on for a 31-ball 37, including two sixes.

Rabada went second ball to a catch behind off Quinn, Cowdrey was caught-and-bowled by Walter and Tredwell became Walter’s third victim, caught on the fine-leg boundary by Lawrence as Kent closed on 154-9.

They return to Chelmsford for a top-of-the-table Championship Division 2 clash on Sunday (11am).