Essex Eagles v Kent Spitfires

DARREN STEVENS was the Kent hero as Spitfires completed a Twenty20 Cup double over Essex with a 42-run triumph under lights in Chelmsford.

The visitors appeared to have badly underachieved in posting a modest 141 for seven from their 20 overs, but in an inspired display Stevens ran out Essex dangerman Ravi Bopara (27) and then took the ball from the River End to claim competition best figures of four for 14 in helping to dismiss the shell-shocked hosts for 99 with 31 balls to spare.

Though Kent's ground fielding was scrappy at times, they held their nerve when it mattered most and by the middle of the Essex reply the Eagles were already deep in trouble having lost seven wickets for only 83 runs.

Mark Pettini (8) was first to go when dragging an attempted drive against Yasir Arafat onto his stumps, then Andy Bickel miscued an attempted straight drive off Morne Morkel to pick out Matthew Walker at mid-off.

Bopara, unable to bowl because of slight thigh strain, batted superbly and looked pure class in clattering five fours in only 15 balls before he chanced a single to extra cover where Stevens swooped to throw down the stumps with a direct hit.

Ryan ten Doeschate also committed batting suicide by attempting a third to long off and easily lost the race against James Tredwell's quick, flat throw then, when Adam Hollioake slogged high to long off to give Stevens his first wicket, Kent scented victory.

The hosts then conspired to lose their last five wickets for 30 runs as Stevens and the Spitfires swept to a second win of the campaign. Tim Phillips (1) was beaten for pace and bowled by the first ball of a new stint from Morkel then James Foster (24) dragged onto his stumps when attempting a push drive at a Stevens' slower ball.

Essex still only needed 51 off the last eight overs, but Kent were having none of it. Graham Napier slogged high into the deep only to see Ryan McLaren take a good catch from a ball that dropped over his right shoulder then, from Stevens next ball, James Middlebrook over-balanced to be superbly stumped down the leg-side by Geraint Jones.

Simon Cook duly polished off the win in the 15th over of the innings by having Danish Kaneria caught at mid-off, this time it was Joe Denly who claimed an athletic catch to silence a near 7,000 crowd at New Writtle Street.

After yet another bright start to the night from Denly, the Spitfires' innings fell away in the face of some cunning bowling from Hollioake, Napier and Danish Kanaria, who all varied their pace superbly and at times Kent's batsmen were made to look bamboozled.

For the third game in four Denly straight drove the first ball of the innings for four and went on to add three more to his tally in a cameo 27 from 20 balls.

With no Rob Key to anchor the innings, acting skipper Martin van Jaarsveld opted to open and had just hit successive boundaries of Tony Palladino to reach 11 when he drove over a yorker to make it 32 for one - the opening stand proved the second biggest of the innings.

Fatally, Denly played across Napier's first ball of the night to go leg before, then Walker (22) having hoisted the first six of the night off Kaneria, dragged the ball onto his stumps when attempting a slash drive at Napier.

Four runs later Stevens (17) checked a pull shot against Hollioake's knuckle ball and simply scooped the ball into the hands of mid-wicket bringing together Tredwell and Jones, the latter losing the second ball of the night when he dispatched a short one from Kaneria out of the ground.

In trying to repeat the slog-sweep in the next over, Jones (11) got a leading edge to short third man and, two deliveries later, McLaren played across the line to give Kaneria his second wicket of the over.

Struggling at 95 for six after 15 overs, Kent were in dire need of some impetus to their innings but that all seemed unlikely once Tredwell, in turning blind for a second run, ran himself out to heap the pressure onto the shoulders of No8 bat Neil Dexter.

In only his second game of the campaign Dexter spared Kent's blushes with a sparkling 31 from 18 balls and with five fours, but for his cameo Kent would have been dead and buried, as it was, the young South African had given his side half a chance of causing an upset.

Scores: Kent 141 for seven, Essex 99 all out after 14.5 overs. Kent 2pts Essex 0pts.