NEW ZEALANDER Ian Butler signed off from his short tour of duty for Kent by steering Spitfires to a dramatic last ball win over totesport League champions Glamorgan at Sophia Gardens last night.

Chasing Glamorgan’s adjusted target of 143 from 25 overs, relegation threatened Kent looked odds on to slip to their seventh successive Division 1 defeat in yet another rain-ruined game.

They had seemingly been scuppered by an incredible bowling stint of six for five by England’s latest one-day recruit Alex Wharf, who had reduced the visitors to 104 for seven and left David Fulton’s side facing demotion for the first time.

Kent still needed 15 from the last over of the game from all-rounder Adrian Dale, also making his final appearance for the Welsh, but Butler proved up to the task.

The penultimate ball of the match went for four byes down the leg side then Butler smeared a low full-toss over the ropes at mid-wicket to land an unexpected one-wicket win that may yet stave off relegation to Division 2.

Requiring 5.72 an over for a win that would boost their slender chances of avoiding the drop, Spitfires made a flying start through Ed Smith and Fulton.

The openers added 46 inside seven overs with Smith contributing a stylish 36 from 23 balls before his demise.

After driving six fours off front and back foot, Smith perished attempting to hook Alex Wharf’s third ball and top-edged a catch to David Hemp at long leg and bring in his landlord, Alex Loudon.

The tall right-hander struggled against the seamers of experienced all-rounder Dale, and it was Dale who got his man with a direct hit from cover after Fulton’s suicidal call for a single.

Fulton soon followed Loudon back to the pavilion when he went leg before in Wharf’s next over, the 11th of the innings to make it 61 for three.

That bought together the experienced Robert Key and Matthew Walker, but at the mid-point of the innings Key aimed an ambitious smear across the line to Wharf to go for five, then, two balls later, Geraint Jones’ lost his off stump to a shooter.

Wharf, after a short rest, returned to bag two more Kent wickets having Michael Carberry (19) and Robert Ferley (0) caught behind to post Glamorgan’s best league figures against Kent.

Matt Dennington and Walker both fell in the late slog, and headed back fearing the worst until Butler’s unbeaten 18 turned the game on its head.

Earlier, the hosts and newly crowned champions overcame a two and three-quarter hour rain-break and the loss of 20 overs to post 142 for seven with the best contributions coming from Matthew Elliott and David Hemp.

The Spitfires had reduced newly crowned champions Glamorgan to 47 for two before the heavens opened during the ninth over of the home innings.

Rob Joseph sent back Robert Croft (8) to a regulation catch by Geraint Jones making a rare county appearance to make it 10 for one.

The Ian Butler plucked out the middle stump of Wharf (18) just before the rain arrived to force the players from the pitch.

Play resumed at 4.30pm and 40 overs were lost as the Dragons resumed their innings with 16.5 overs to go.

Next man in Michael Powell went to the first ball back in slicing Butler’s second ball of the over to Walker at backward point.

Former England bat Matthew Maynard survived the hat-trick ball, a good yorker, but went just five balls later by top-edging an attempted sweep off Ferley to deep mid-wicket where Loudon pulled off a low catch running in that made it 56 for four.

Left-handers Elliott and Hemp worked the ball around nicely in adding 59 in 11 overs.

Hemp took a brace of sixes off the 19th over bowled by Loudon, the first clear over extra cover the second went over the ropes at long-off via Butler’s hands and an excellent attempted catch.

Elliott had scored 44 from 67 with four boundaries when his uppish drive against a Rob Joseph slower ball flew to Dennington at long-off.

Hemp went with his score on 40 at a run-a-ball, to another good catch in the deep over his right shoulder by Ferley, but some late clubbing by another left-hander, Mark Wallace, took him to 16 in 10 balls before Ferley effected a run out off his own bowling.

Butler closed with two for 11 and Joseph two for 34 in a workmanlike fielding performance by Kent.