Kent beat Middlesex by 17 runs

KENT’S veteran spinner Min Patel bagged four wickets to ease Spitfires to a relatively comfortable 17-run win over Middlesex in front of a near 20,000 Lord’s crowd.

Playing in only his third Twenty20 Cup in four years the Indian-born left-armer ran through the home middle order with four wickets in 23 balls.

Recording Spitfires’ best bowling figures in Twenty20 he helped secure their second away win in the history of the competition in 11 attempts – and their first on the road in three years.

The Crusaders reply started horribly and within three overs both openers were back in the sparsely populated pavilion – the razzmatazz of Twenty20 is not for MCC members is would seem.

Former Kent and England bat Ed Smith followed his second ball of the night, an Andrew Hall leg-cutter to edge to Martin van Jaarsveld for Smith's seventh duck of the season in all competitions.

Then, with his score on five, Nick Compton completed a dreadful match by miscuing an attempted pull-shot off Tyron Henderson to give an over-the-shoulder catch to Rob Key running from mid-wicket toward the Tavern.

Having scored an unbeaten 123 in the Trophy tie here last Sunday, Owais Shah clearly has a liking for this Spitfires’ attack as Amjad Khan found to his cost as the ex-England bat took four successive boundaries off the bowler’s second over.

He had reached 33 from 25 balls when Patel, bowling his second delivery of the match, lured him down the pitch for a lofted drive that picked out Neil Dexter at long-off to end a stand worth 63 in eight over with his acting skipper Scott Styris.

The burly Kiwi went on to score Crusaders’ sole 50 of the night but, having seen Eoin Morgan take 10 off the first three balls of another Patel over, he recklessly went for another big hit only to hole out to Stevens at long-on.

Morgan, a chirpy young left-hander also looked capable of snatching the game from Kent’s grasp as he stroked 29 off 16 balls, but again Patel proved too worldly wise.

Floating one up, he drew Morgan down the pitch for Niall O’Brien, Morgan’s Ireland team-mate, to pull off a juggled stumping at the second attempt.

Three balls later Patel had Paul Weekes caught slogging at deep mid-wicket by Dexter to give the former England left-arm excellent figures of four for 24 and with them the man-of-the-match award.

There was still time for Hall to uproot Billy Godleman’s middle stump with a quick yorker, but by then the home chances had already gone and Middlesex were heading for their third straight defeat.

It had been clear from the first over of the night that this Lord’s pitch, used for the previous week’s four-day game with Lancashire was not the easiest for stroke-play as Chris Silverwood got the ball seam away and beat the bat three times in his first over.

As a consequence the former England and Yorkshire seamer conceded only 15 from his first three overs as Kent got off to a watchful start through Dexter and Stevens and an opening stand of 59 in seven overs.

They finally upped the tempo in the seventh over when rookie spinner Chris Peploe was introduced from the Nursery End with both mid-on and mid-off in the circle inviting Dexter to go over the top twice for boundaries.

Dexter, having scored 33 from 20 balls went when heaving across the line to Scott Styris and, in the next over, Hall was fortunate to survive when he sliced high to long-off only for Compton to drop a simple catch.

Four runs on Hall drove to long-on only to see the same player take a stunning catch only to carry it over the ropes for six in his momentum.

It proved to be Hall’s only boundary however as, after a stand worth 51 in five overs, the South African ran down the wicket aiming to drive expansively at Shah only to gift a stumping to Ben Scott.

Only Stevens seemed able to find his timing on this two-paced surface in moving to his maiden Twent20 Cup 50 for Kent from 33 balls that included four fours and a brace of sixes into the Mound Stand.

Even in-form van Jaarsveld struggled when he chipped to mid-wicket to go for only six then Key, having promoted himself to bat at No5. looked equally ill at ease before edging one to the keeper after scoring four from eight balls.

With three overs remaining Spitfires still had their sights set on reaching 200 for the first time in Twenty20 competition, but Silverwood returned to york Stevens for a competition best 69 from 43 balls with six fours and three sixes.

That bought together Matthew Walker and new boy Henderson for a bright partnership bossed by Walker who, in this form, should not be going in at six.

The diminutive left-hander took a brace of fours off Silverwood’s last over to reach an unbeaten 29 from 18 balls but the seam bowler exacted his revenge with a bouncer that struck Walker flush on his collarbone.

His fielding duties went to 12th man Joe Denly, allowing Walker to watch from the dressing room as Middlesex caved in.