RUMOUR has it that Spitfires spent many an hour in pre-season working out their game plan for one-day cricket but if Sunday’s 19-run totesport League performance at Edgbaston is anything to go by then best they go back to the drawing board.

Having been blown away by Nick Knight’s 21st limited overs century and Warwickshire’s highest league score against them, Kent lost three wickets inside eight overs of the reply in making a poor start to chasing 280 at a rate of 6.2 an over.

Geraint Jones (4) steered a drive to point off Heath Streak, but frustratingly Rob Key (14) lapped to short fine leg and Matt Walker (1) miscued to deep square to give part-time bowler Ian Bell two wickets in his opening over.

True enough, skipper David Fulton and his new Kolpak signing Martin van Jaarsveld steadied the ship with a fourth-wicket stand of 107 at almost a run-a-ball, but Spitfires were unable to maintain the impetus.

Fulton disappointingly holed-out for 57 to his former starlet Alex Loudon then and when van Jaarsveld squirted a drive into the hands of point to go for 82 from 85 balls Kent’s hopes went with him.

By then the run-rate had already soared above nine an over ensuring Kent were heading for yet more humiliation in Birmingham.

As with their opening game against Derbyshire, Kent’s bowlers had started poorly after losing the toss with Simon Cook’s first over costing 18, while Martin Saggers saw his opener go for 10.

Cook recovered his composure somewhat to take three for 64, but otherwise it was hard going for Spitfires colourless attack on a slow Edgbaston pitch that offered little or no lateral movement.

Former Kent rookie Loudon scored a measured 31 and Dougie Brown a more belligerent 29, but the innings of the day was that of Knight’s.

Quick to move down the pitch he drove, cut, swept and nurdled with equal aplomb and Kent had no answer.

An Edgbaston crowd approaching 4,000 gave their skipper a resounding ovation for his unbeaten 122 that helped the hosts to a mammoth 45-over total of 279 for seven.

The former England left-hander clubbed 21 from his last six deliveries and hit 14 fours and a six during his 121-ball stay that left Kent’s bowlers scratching their heads.

Afterwards left-arm spinner Rob Ferley said: “Bowling at left-handers is often a difficult thing in one-day cricket for me, but bowling at ‘Knighty’ in that form is tough.

“It was just a composed hundred, he worked the ball around, picked the spots in the field and changed gear toward the end.

“The other key things though are his running between the wickets and his foot movement, because he can turn a good ball into a single, rotate the strike and take the pressure off the man at the other end.”

Although this is their first league defeat of the campaign the warning signs are already so stark that Kent may have to consider a return to square one in terms of their limited overs thinking.

Opening the attack with Saggers rather than Cook, who is proving expensive at not much above medium pace, is just one option.

Making up their fifth bowler by using the military medium dibbly-dob of Matthew Walker and Darren Stevens may also come under scrutiny.

The pair not only conceded 59 between them in Birmingham but their nine collective overs allowed the host batsmen to pick off runs at will and with little or no risk.

Few attacks could have contained Knight in this form but Kent will have travelled home thinking how they might have done better.

And though Fulton’s side are only three games into their Division 2 campaign one Kent supporter summed up the mood succinctly in saying: “Well at least we can’t get relegated.”