Surrey Brown Caps v Kent Spitfires

Kent moved up to second in the NatWest Pro40 Division 2 after Tuesday night’s 142-run drubbing that ends Surrey’s promotion hopes.

Chasing Kent’s impressive 314-6, the Brown Caps succumbed for 173 to fall to their biggest ever margin of defeat in any form of limited overs cricket against the Spitfires. It was Kent’s fourth straight win in four separate competitions in Kennington this year.

Surrey’s reply started disastrously when Scott Newman played outside a Robbie Joseph off-cutter that clipped the top of the left-hander’s off stump after only two balls.

In Joseph’s next over, James Benning edged to James Tredwell at first slip.

Khan, having had Usman Afzaal (5) dropped at cover by Joe Denly, got his first victim by having Stewart Walters (8) caught at second slip.

Afzal failed to benefit from the let-off, however, as, with his score on seven, he edged to first slip to make it 21-4 after five overs.

Mark Ramprakash and Jonathan Batty posted 50 in 45 balls before Ramprakash (20) nicked a drive against Ryan McLaren for Martin van Jaarsveld to hold a throat-high catch at slip.

After a 50, sixth-wicket stand, van Jaarsveld then struck with his occasional off-spin when Batty (49 from 50 balls) clipped a full-toss to Denly at long-on.

In the next over, Matt Nicholson (2) advanced to drive Tredwell only to lose his leg stump, then Tredwell had Alex Tudor (5) caught at long-on by Darren Stevens.

Matt Spriegel was the only Brown Caps’ batsman to reach 50, his maiden league half-century came from 51 balls with two boundaries, but four balls later, the left-hander missed a slog-sweep at Tredwell and lost leg stump.

Last man Pedro Collins (4) then missed a slog against Tredwell to be stumped by Jones and complete Kent’s triumph with 50 balls to spare and give the off-spinner figures of 4-32.

Kent innings

Having won the toss on a bright afternoon, Denly and Rob Key did well to combat early swing and seam movement.

Key opened the boundary count with a streaky outside edge to third man but followed it with shots through point and a clubbing cover drive.

Denly joined in an eventual boundary fest of six sixes and 27 fours with an on-drive and pull through mid-wicket off Jade Dernbach.

The opening stand ended in the seventh over when Key, driving on the front foot at Nicholson, edged to Stewart Walters at slip to go for a run-a-ball 21 and make it 42-1

Denly combined with van Jaarsveld to post 178 in 23 overs thereafter, Denly’s 50 coming from 46 balls while van Jaarsveld’s an even quicker 38-balls affair with six boundaries.

Denly enjoyed two slices of luck surviving a leg-side stumping chance when on 80 and then, four runs later, an easier opportunity at extra cover where Walters failed to hold a firm drive.

Van Jaarsveld was dropped on 66 when Pedro Collins got fingertips to a lofted drive. Otherwise, he looked high quality until risking a second to Benning at deep cover to be run out by a direct hit to go for 93 from only 69 balls.

Denly also missed out on a ton after dragging onto his leg stump when driving against Dernbach to go for 98 from 97 deliveries.

Stevens clubbed two huge sixes off Tudor but Stevens (30 off 18 balls) was caught behind off a thin inside edge when driving at Dernbach, who also had McLaren (18) caught at long-off.

Matt Walker (17) had his middle stump demolished by an in-swinging Collins yorker but Kent had already reached 300.

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