Joe Denly is dismissed for just two runs from six balls Picture: Barry Goodwin

by Adam Williams

Kent Spitfires fell to their second defeat in the Friends Life t20 after losing to Hampshire Royals by 20 runs on Sunday.

The game at Tunbridge Wells was reduced to a five-over contest after umpires David Millns and Steve O'Shaunessy eventually got play under way nearly three hours later than scheduled.

Grey skies and persistent showers prevented play from starting on time (3pm), but once it did at 5.58pm, Kent won the toss and elected to bowl.

Rob Key's decision looked to have paid off as after two overs, Hampshire openers Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams had only scored 11. But Simon Cook and Adam Ball soon came in for some punishment as they both went for 28 runs in their respective overs.

Lumb, part of England's Twenty20 World Cup winning side in the Caribbean last summer, hit four sixes and a four off Ball before he was bowled by the youngster's final delivery for 35 from just 11 balls.

Adams also struck four sixes in his unbeaten 33 to guide the Royals to an imposing 78-1 from their five overs.

That left Kent requiring nearly 16 runs an over from their five, but openers Key and Joe Denly (pictured) were unable to find the necessary momentum. Former England paceman Simon Jones soon put paid to an unlikely home win with both the openers' wickets in successive balls. Denly scored just two runs from six balls, and Key seven from five.

Darren Stevens soon found his hitting range on the generous Nevill Ground boundaries, but he and Martin Van Jaarsveld were left with the improbable task of needing 34 to win off the final over.

Stevens did his best to free his arms off Hampshire skipper Dominic Cork, but ultimately had too much to do. He reached 45 from just 16 balls, including five fours and three sixes, as Kent finished on 58-2.

The Spitfires' next two games in the competition are on the road against Somerset at Taunton on Friday and then Glamorgan at Cardiff the next day.