Durham Dynamos v Kent Spitfires

Kent remain on course for their first knock-out cup win in 30 years after cantering to an 83-run triumph in Friday’s Friends Provident Trophy semi-final against holders Durham.

Dynamos were left flat and drained by a stunning Spitfires performance that saw them post 301-4 and defend it with aplomb by skittling the hosts out inside 44 overs to book their place in the final at Lord’s -it will be Kent’s first appearance in a St John’s Wood showpiece since 1997.

Dynamos’ made a miserable start to their reply by losing both openers within the first nine balls of the innings.

Michael Di Venuto, pushing half forward in defence at an Azhar Mahmood in-swinger, went leg before to the sixth ball despite the hint of an inside edge.

Then, with his third ball from the Finkhole End, Yasir Arafat ran one away from left-hander Phil Mustard who obligingly followed it and nicked low to Geraint Jones diving away to his left.

Paul Collingwood, who was given late ECB dispensation to play in this game, scored a run-a-ball 36 with six fours for his part in a third-wicket stand with Will Smith that added 52 in 10 overs until Ryan McLaren struck with his first ball of the day.

Aiming to straight drive a full-length in-swinger, Collingwood played inside the line to go leg before and make it 56-3.

Smith and his skipper Dale Benkenstein continued the home fight-back with a fourth-wicket stand worth 108 in 18 overs, with Smith contributing a sound 56 before he played across the line and went leg before to Darren Stevens.

After bowling dreadfully, Albie Morkel’s bad day continued when, with his score on nine, he attempted to loft one from James Tredwell back over the bowlers head only to pick out McLaren at long off.

With the asking rate spiraling toward eight an over Dynamos’ South African overseas professional was replaced by their South African Kolpak Shaun Pollock.

The pair were content to push singles and rotate the strike for a while but Pollock eventually went for his big guns and paid the price when he pulled a short one from Arafat to Justin Kemp running in from deep square leg, his catch diving forward on the run and low down was stunning.

Stevens finished with admirable figures of 1-43 and with 10 overs remaining the hosts still needed 91.

Gareth Breese (1) tried to improvise with a reverse sweep against Tredwell but dragged his back foot to gift Jones a stumping, Liam Plunkett (1) was run by Jones’s direct hit with an under-armed flick then Harmison was bowled through the gate by Tredwell, who finished with respectable figures of 3-37.

Last man Neil Killeen appeared to want to get off the strike against McLaren and, in turning for a second to long off, was run out once Kemp and McLaren ferried the ball back for Jones to whip off the bails and complete the win with 41 balls to spare as Durham lost their last five wickets for 10 runs.

Kent's 301-4 came courtesy of Denly's 102 and a superb, unbeaten 122 from man-of-the-match Martin van Jaarsveld.

Though former England pace bowler Steve Harmison impressed with a 10-over return of 4-47, he and the six other Dynamos’ bowlers struggled to contain Kent's century makers.

An opening stand worth 96 in 19 overs though Rob Key (40) and Denly saw the pair plunder 17 boundaries.

Upset by some harsh treatment, Harmison got his dander up to have Key caught behind by a tumbling Phil Mustard to make it 96-1.

Harmison then rattled Denly's helmet with another quick delivery and at the Lumley End, while another former England seamer Liam Plunkett, was also causing headaches with an intelligent mix of slower balls and yorkers.

He bowled his 10 overs straight trough and included two maidens in his nought for 36 return, but van Jaarsveld broke the pressure by clipping a lofted four over mid-wicket off his Titan's team-mate Morkel.

Pollock's wicket-less 10-over stint ended at a cost of 51 runs and he was replaced by Collingwood, whose sole over of the game went for 14 runs.

Denly moved to his first trophy ton of the summer from 122-balls and with 15 fours. It was Denly's second in this competition following his unbeaten 102 against Ireland in Belfast last year.

In-form ex-Proteas' Test batsman van Jaarsveld posted his 50 from 48 balls with four fours and, after 19 overs, Kent's second wicket pair had added 100.

Harmison's return led to Denly's demise for 102, bowled off stump after squeezing a full-length ball through inside edge and pad.

Azhar Mahmood was promoted to No4 to improve the scoring rate beyond the steady five-an-over that Spitfires had plundered thus far, but it was van Jaarsveld who increased the tempo with another brace of fours off Morkel.

Mahmood hit 14 off 11 balls before, driving hard at a Harmison leg-cutter only to have his off stump pegged back and make it 228-3.

Justin Kemp (5) was soon undone by a Harmison slower ball that hit middle and leg stumps as the right-hander aimed an ambitious drive.

Morkel continued to suffer as van Jaarsveld clattered two sixes off the all-rounder's sixth over on his way to an 85-ball hundred with seven fours and two sixes.

It was van Jaarsveld's third ton in four days, his fourth in the competition this season.

Incredibly, Morkel stayed on for the final over when again Van Jaarsveld deposited him into the seats over mid-wicket as 20 came off the over to leave Morkel with horrid figures of nought for 75 from seven overs as Kent with 301.

Darren Stevens (12*) had helped van Jaarsveld add 53 in the last four overs for the fifth wicket and leave Durham needing the highest ever score to win a one-day game here - the task proved well beyond them.

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