England Lions bat Joe Denly put his poor start to the season well and truly behind him with a match-winning 83 not out that helped Kent to a comfortable nine-wicket Trophy win over Sussex.

The 22-year-old right-hander from Whitstable featured in an unbroken stand worth 174 with his stand-in skipper Martin van Jaarsveld (109 not out) that simply brushed a depleted Sussex team aside.

Afterwards Denly said: "The main thing was seeing it through to the end.

"With all the training and nets I've been having of late I've felt in pretty good shape with my game, the only thing I wasn't getting was enough time out there in the middle. But thankfully I managed to change that today.

"I knew that the longer I spent out there the easier it would get and feeling the ball hit the middle of your bat over and over is the best way to get your form and confidence back."

Denly added: "To have 'Jaara' (Martin van Jaarsveld) up the other end was also a big help to me today. He didn't need to say a great deal but he's such a positive guy in all that he does and that attitude rubs off on you.

"Watching him time it as nicely as he does down at the other end just filled me with confidence and it was great fun batting with him."

After four succesive wins Kent's players will now enjoy a couple of days off before starting their preparation for Friday night's floodlit Friends Provident tie with Essex at Chelmsford.