KENT qualified for their first ever Twenty20 Cup final with a magnificent five-wicket win over Sussex in a battling semi-final at a packed Edgbaston.

Once again skipper Rob Key, who averaged 65 coming into finals day, anchored the innings with an unbeaten 68 as Kent successfully chased down the Sussex total of 140 to win with three balls to spare.

As has been the case throughout the campaign young England bat Joe Denly gave Spitfires a flying start with three fours off the first over from Robin Martin-Jenkins from the City End.

Not to be outdone, his captain and opening partner Key then took another hat-trick of boundaries from the first over from the Pavilion End bowled by Rana Naved.

The Kent half-century came up in 4.5 overs after Denlyâ's back-foot six over long-on and a cut four off Martin-Jenkins forcing Sussex captain Chris Adams to make his first bowling change by introducing wrist spinner Mushtaq Ahmed.

The ploy failed badly at first as Key ran down the pitch to clip the Pakistan wizard for two leg-side sixes, though Key might have gone to a stumping had Matt Prior hit the stumps with a back-handed throw after gathering the ball leg-side.

The partnership ended after 6.1 overs when Denly, having hit 31from 20 balls, aimed to sweep the first ball of the day from Saqlain Mushtaq through square leg only to toe-end it to James Kirtley at deep mid-wicket.

Key then teamed up with Martin van Jaarsveld, but after hitting only two from seven balls, the South African dragged the ball onto his stumps when attempting to sweep Mushtaq.

Matthew Walker, restored to the side after a calf strain and at the expense Neil Dexter, pushed the ball around intelligently and with 50 balls of the innings remaining Kent had reduced their target to 60 with eight wickets still in hand.

Kent's third-wicket pair then unleashed their reverse sweeps against Saqlain, firstly Walker for three to third man then Key, for Kent's first four in a 40-ball barren spell on his way to a 41-ball half-century.

Both overseas spinners finished with identical figures of one for 21, but by then Kent had 95 on the board and were looking set to cruise to victory.

Walker reverse swept Michael Yardy for another four to post the Spitfires 100 and had reached 18 from 24 balls when he clipped off his legs only to pick out James Kirtley at deep mid-wicket.

Kirtley then came on to bowl from the City End and had Darren Stevens (1) caught at short mid-wicket to leave Kent needing 27 off the last three overs and bring some tension to proceedings.

With 23 required and boundaries needed, Ryan McLaren swung and missed at Rana Naved to be bowled off stump for two, but then Key drove imperiously for four against Kirtley, then clipped two further boundaries through mid-wicket to leave his side needing nine off the last over from Rana Naved.

He no balled with his first delivery, Jones then scrambled a single, Key ran two leg byes, then Key turned the next ball, another no ball, for two to long leg to win it with three balls to spare.

Earlier, the Sharks' innings backfired badly after a stunning start from openers Chris Nash and Murray Goodwin with a first wicket stand of 60 inside 5.2 overs.

Treating Kent's all-international new ball pairing of Yasir Arafat and Lasith Malinga with near contempt, the Sussex duo posted 50 within 28 balls as they cracked boundaries to all parts of a packed Edgbaston.

Malinga, on his Kent debut, disappeared for 21 in his wayward opening overs and was removed from the attack after only 12 balls, while Arafat received similar treatment conceding four fours and 20 runs all together in his two-over opening burst.

It was Ryan McLaren, who replaced Arafat at the Pavilion End, who finally broke the Sussex opening partnership with only his second ball.

Having hammered 37 off 16 balls with eight fours, Nash miscued an attempted straight drive and skied high to mid-on where James Tredwell ran in to take a well judged catch under pressure.

With the run-rate racing along at 10 an over, it needed McLaren and Simon Cook to finally apply the break with a couple of overs that cost only two apiece.

Luke Wright, who scored a 44-ball century against Kent in the zonal stages, came in and tried to play big shots from ball one but on this occasion the young all-rounder came unstuck.

He might have been run out for two had van Jaarsveld hit the non-striker's stumps with an under-arm effort, but just a run later Wright attempted a lofted drive off Darren Stevens and thick edged high toward third man where McLaren, sprinting round from backward point, took a stunning catch over his right shoulder.

Having stemmed the flow of runs through Stevens' four-over spell of one for 13, captain Key introduced off-spinner Tredwell who came up trumps by conceding just a single in his first over and played a part in dismissing Murray Goodwin for 38 after a run out video replay.

The Zimbabwean called for a chancy single to Key at deep backward point but lost the race to the non-striker's end where Tredwell collected an excellent throw and broke the stumps.

In his next over Tredwell conceded a boundary to Matt Prior (5) but, in trying to repeat the slog through mid-wicket, the England wicketkeeper holed out to Denly, made a tricky catch look simple just inside the ropes at deep mid-wicket.

All of a sudden Kent's self belief came back and the pressure started to show in the Sussex batting and Kent tightened the screw with two more incredible run outs, both of which went to the third umpire Jeremy Lloyds.

Sussex skipper Chris Adams had reached 15 when left-hander Michael Yardy steered the ball to point and called for a single, but McLaren stole in, picked up and, though running away from the stumps, sent a right-handed flick throw into Geraint Jones who gathered in front of the stumps and whipped off the bails.

Without addition to the total non-striker Robin Martin Jenkins went to a 40-yard direct hit from Tredwell that scattered the stumps as the gangly all-rounder sprawled to make his ground.

Tredwell's influence on the game heightened when he then beat Yardy (4) in the flight to have him easily stumped by Jones to end his four-over stint with two for 25.

Arafat finished disappointingly, his three overs cost 32 as the Pakistan all-rounder conceded five fours and a six but Malinga provided the sting in Kent's tail.

He swapped ends to replace Stevens, but to be frank the Sri Lankan looked a bit ring rusty, as any bowler might having had a month out of the game.

He did pick up three, near identical wickets at the death though to finish with somewhat flattering figures of three for 30 from 3.4 overs as Sussex succumbed for 140 two balls before the scheduled end to their innings.

Mushtaq Ahmed (4) backed away and steered a near yorker-length ball to third man where McLaren took a good low catch, Rana Naved (23) followed suit flat-batting to McLaren then Saqlain Mushtaq (5) skied high to point for van Jaarsveld to end the innings and with it Sharks' hopes of reaching the final.