Rob Key looking for runs in the Twenty20 Cup quarter-final against Durham

by Graham Jones

Rob Key paid tribute to the club’s supporters after Kent reached a third successive Twenty20 finals day.

The Spitfires were roared on by the biggest crowd at the St Lawrence Ground since 1993 as they overcame the Durham Dynamos by 56 runs on Monday night.

Key said: "It was an unbelievable crowd, the best I have played in front of at Canterbury in my whole career.

"Credit to the people at Kent for putting on a good show, but credit also to everyone who turned up to watch. It was a great atmosphere to play in."

Key also praised the quality of the pitch for the quarter-final clash on which his side posted a target of 149-7, before dismissing the visitors for 93.

"It was a great wicket," said Key. "It was good to bat on at times and, if you bowled well, you got a lot out of it.

"It was one of those days where everything went right for us, and everything we tried seemed to come off. It is an easy job captaining a side when they bowl like that.

"We thought 150 would be a good score because if you see guys like Ian Blackwell bowl well then you know there is something in the pitch.

"We knew Treddy would come into it and Simon Cook, with pace off the ball, but what we didn’t expect was for the quicker guys like Wayne Parnell, Ryan McLaren and Azhar Mahmood to bowl so well. It was a fantastic performance by the bowlers."

Key admitted Durham were the team he had been hoping to avoid in the quarter-final draw.

He said: "They are a fantastic side and I was pleased to see Steve Harmison was not here. It was handy playing at home because we had a good idea of the wicket.

"We got off to a decent start and managed to fight our way in the end up to a half-decent score. You never know with Durham, but fortunately it went our way."