Warwickshire Bears v Kent Spitfires

Spitfires opened their NatWest Pro40 League account with a 22-run win at Edgbaston on Sunday evening where the Bears were run ragged by an impressive Kent fielding performance led by wicketkeeper Geraint Jones with five victims.

Chasing Kent’s total of 228-8 Warwickshire slumped to 206-9 with Azhar Mahmood bagging 4-29 as Spitfires’ impressive one-day form continued.

Needing to score at almost a run-a-ball on a pitch offering some assistance to the seamers, the Bears made a sloppy start as Neil Carter (11) and Jim Troughton (10) got themselves out in near identical fashion.

Opening bat Carter, push-driving at a Yasir Arafat lifter, edged though to Geraint Jones to make it 16-1 then Troughton also nicked through to the Kent keeper when attempting a run down to third man against an Azhar Mahmood lifter.

Home skipper Darren Maddy teamed up with Jonathan Trott to add 58 in 10 overs for the third wicket but Kent increased the pressure with maidens for Arafat and then two in succession from Simon Cook.

With his score on 28 Maddy eventually cracked in snicking a third catch to Jones, this time stood up to Cook then, two balls later, Tony Frost played outside the line of an off-cutter to go leg before without scoring.

Just after the mid-point of the reply Luke Parker (2) danced down the pitch aiming a lofted drive against James Tredwell only to gift Jones a stumping and a fourth victim.

Jones soon made that five when Ant Botha nicked a reverse sweep against Martin van Jaarsveld and Kent looked firm favourites for victory.

With Bears needing 47 from the last four overs Tom Groenewald had to go for some big shots against Azhar Mahmood but simply picked out James Tredwell at long off.

Three balls later, Ian Salisbury was left dusty and prone on his back by a Mahmood yorker cum toe-crusher that also pegged back leg stump then Chris Woakes spooned a slower ball to cover point leaving Jonathan Trott high and dry with an unbeaten 91 come the close.

Earlier, Spitfires were guilty of tossing away a very promising position for merely a decent after being restricted to a 40-over total of 228-8.

Though they lost Joe Denly without scoring to the eighth ball of the game and might have had Rob Key run out for nought, they recovered superbly to coast to 193-4 before the wheels came off with the loss of four wickets for six runs in the space of 17 balls.

Key, who anchored the innings with a fine 80 from 83 balls, added 82 in 13 overs for the second wicket with van Jaarsveld, who also batted fluently for his 49 from 47 deliveries.

But their fun ended when van Jaarsveld drove a catch to short extra cover off Carter to make it 85-2.

Yasir Arafat included a couple of lusty hits in his 14 but he aimed to flick Salisbury's first delivery of the day through mid-wicket only to get himself out leg before to one that turned after pitching on leg stump.

Key and Matt Walker added a further 76 in 12 overs for the fourth wicket before Key, having reached a 53-ball 50 with a six over extra cover against off-spinner Botha, worked across the line to a Maddy straight one to go lbw.

Three balls later Walker (43) pushed toward cover point and hesitated before setting off for a single only to be run out by Botha's direct hit to the non-striker's end.

Azhar Mahmood had scored only two when he clipped firmly toward mid-wicket also against Maddy to be well caught low down by Trott then, in the next over, a distinctly out-of-sorts Justin Kemp, fished at a spinning delivery from Salisbury to edge to the keeper for one.

The collapse continued when, in the penultimate over of the innings, Jones (6) skied a miscued hook to cover to give Carter decent figures of 2-32 but a cameo, unbeaten 21 from Ryan McLaren at least helped Kent beyond 200.

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