Kent Spitfires won by 39 runs.

JUST 10 hours after landing in England Kent’s new overseas all-rounder Tyron Henderson was wooing a 4,000 Beckenham crowd and helping Spitfires to a 39-run Twenty20 Cup win over Essex Eagles.

Though his kit went missing at Heathrow, 31-year-old Henderson made light of the 12-hour flight by claiming three wickets for four runs in his opening two overs to help restrict Eagles to 147 all out.

The Highveld Lions’ star had started his Kent career with a second ball six that helped Spitfires to a Cup best total of 186 for six that Essex never threatened once they had lost skipper Ronnie Irani for a hard-hit 61.

With his first ball Henderson had Mark Pettini caught on the boundary, then with his sixth he plucked out Darren Gough’s off stump to become an instant hit with the Kent faithful.

For good measure he cleaned up James Middlebrook in his next over, but Irani continued to slog effectively racing to 61 from 32 balls with four sixes and five fours.

It was another debutant, Neil Dexter, who took up the baton thereafter by claiming three for 27, including the vital scalp of Irani to a well-judged catch in the deep by Martin van Jaarsveld.

With the task beyond them, Essex capitulated with eight balls remaining when Amjad Khan claimed two wickets in as many deliveries to polish the job off and land a rare cup win.

Though Spitfires lost Darren Stevens (1) in the second over of the innings when he steered Gough’s first ball of the game to second slip, Kent recovered to make a spirited start through Dexter and Andrew Hall in a second wicket stand of 55 in four overs.

Dexter, playing with a little more bottom-hand than usual, clubbed four fours in his 26-ball innings of 36, while Hall was even more aggressive, hitting six fours in his 19-ball knock worth 35.

Hall, off balance after a huge mow, went to a James Foster stumping off Ravinda Bopara then, after James Tredwell holed out for six, Dexter lost his off stump when driving at an Andre Adams off-cutter to make it 97 for four.

The run-rate suffered as van Jaarsveld and Rob Key worked the ball around to play themselves in but Key, with his score on 18, was lured out of his ground by a Middlebrook arm ball to bring in Matthew Walker.

The diminutive left-hander lasted only three balls, however, when he fell to a Bopara run out when chancing a second to deep square-leg to bring in Kent debutant Tyron Henderson.

Wearing borrowed kit, brand new boots that he had bought during the afternoon and using a bat loaned from van Jaarsveld, Henderson defended his first ball and clubbed his second delivery over the ropes at deep mid-wicket – it proved the only six of the Kent innings.

South Africans van Jaarsveld (37) and Henderson (31) batted out the last four over in an unbroken stand of 49 assisted by seven runs from one delivery in the final overs from Gough.

Having sent down a no ball bouncer Gough, enraged that Kent had the temerity to run a bye, swivelled and attempted to throw down the stumps only to concede four over-throws.

While the total broke Kent’s Twenty20 record by four runs, with only 16 fours and Henderson’s six their score never gave the impression of being an utterly defendable one.

Thanks to Henderson and Dexter, it was!