by Mark Stokes

Another injury to paceman Simon Cook compounded Kent’s misery as they slipped to a 15-run defeat against Sussex Sharks under floodlights at Canterbury on Friday night.

The luckless 36-year-old, who was due to be recalled in place of Adam Ball, hurt one of the fingers on his bowling hand during pre-match fielding practice and faces a fitness test ahead of the weekend Championship game at The Kia Oval.

Cook broke his thumb during fielding practice during the championship game against Gloucestershire in April and his latest setback continued Kent’s disastrous run with injuries this season.

Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld have both also had broken fingers and van Jaarsveld continues to be sidelined by a split in the webbing between his thumb and index finger.

Cook’s mishap set the tone for a disappointing night for Kent whose bowlers were put to the sword by Sussex wicketkeeper Matt Prior, who dominated the Sussex total of 159-6 by smashing 89 from just 59 balls.

Kent lost half their side for 92 in reply and despite a fine unbeaten half-century from Darren Stevens they finished on 144-8, leaving their hopes of qualifying for the quarter-finals in the balance.

Director of cricket Paul Farbrace had no excuses afterwards. He said: “It was a bad night all round. To be fair we did not deserve anything out of tonight. We were pretty poor in a lot of areas and we deserved what we got. We just weren’t good enough, It was a pretty average performance all round, but we’ve got to move on.”

Put into bat, Sussex were given a blistering start by Prior and Ed Joyce, who took 13 from the second and third overs in adding 47. The breakthrough came from the last ball of the fifth over – Wahab Riaz’s first – as he trapped Joyce leg before but Sussex, led by Prior, cracked on, taking 12 from the first over bowled in this year’s competition by Darren Stevens.

Prior raced to his half-century in just 29 balls, with seven fours, and helped by his first six of the innings in the 10th over, Sussex were 88-1 at halfway.

The England man twice escaped when first Sam Northeast and then Sam Billings completely lost the flight of the ball in the sun on the boundary, and the hard-hitting opener took full advantage, adding 69 in just over eight overs with Ben Brown (20) before the latter chipped a comfortable catch to Stevens off James Tredwell to make it 116-2 in the 13th over.

Lou Vincent (6) survived a chance when Charl Langeveldt misjudged a skier off Riaz – hurting his finger in the process - but the very next ball Geraint Jones took a breathtaking diving one-handed catch off a hard snick to send the New Zealander packing and make it 133-3 after 15 overs.

From that point Kent’s bowlers hit back. The next over saw Chris Nash (4) cut Langeveldt to point where Rob Key held a diving catch and, just one run later, the same combination accounted for Prior (pictured left), whose brilliant innings ended rather tamely when he dollied up a catch. He hit nine fours and two sixes.

Joe Gatting (4) quickly followed, being caught off a top edge by Denly to give Riaz - easily the pick of the Kent attack - figures of 3-22.

Kent’s reply quickly hit trouble as Denly missed an attempted reverse sweep and was lbw to Ollie Rayner for just a single in the second over.

Key went to 12 before he was bowled by Umar Gul’s first ball with the score on 27, (pictured top) and Kent were already behind the eight-an-over asking rate as they reached 35-2 from the first six overs.

Disaster struck in the eighth over as Azhar Mahmood (18) (pictured above right) was run out by Gul to make it 44-3 and by the end of the 10th over, the home side were 25 behind Sussex at the same stage.

Sam Northeast (7) holed out off Michael Yardy to Vincent, coming in from long off at 63, and with the total on 92, and the rain driving in, Alex Blake (5) steered Chris Liddle to Nash at point.

With 54 required from the final five overs much rested on Stevens, but he lost Jones (6), caught in the deep at 118, and when Riaz (4) was bowled by Gul (3-26) in the same over the game was all but up.

Sam Billings made just one, and with 24 required from the last over, Kent managed just eight. Stevens – Kent’s one class act with the bat - finished unbeaten on 65, made from 53 balls, with four fours and two sixes. His fifty had come up in 36 deliveries.

This was Kent’s first defeat in six home matches and with wins for Surrey and Essex on the same night, they have slipped out of the qualifying spots. Their final matches are both away, against Surrey Lions (July 14) and Essex Eagles (July 15).