For the second week running Martin van Jaarsveld failed to salvage an indifferent Kent batting performance in Sunday’s Friends Provident Trophy tie against Middlesex at Lord’s.

Fresh from his magnificent 124 in a losing cause against Essex last weekend, the South African again led from the front with Kent’s top-score of 53 in a rain affected qualifier in St John’s Wood.

Set to chase a revised target of 173 from 33 overs, an asking rate of 5.34 an over, Spitfires were dismissed for 166 to lose under the Duckworth/Lewis method by six runs.

Their reply started badly when Rob Key, well back in defence to a Steven Finn lifter, chopped on to his stumps to go for a single then, with his score on 17, his opening partner Joe Denly skied a rash drive to mid-off to make it 42 for 2.

The visitors passed 50 in the 15th over but the asking rate had already risen to 5.4 after Finn’s accurate seven-over stint of one for 25 from the Pavilion End.

Soon after Matt Walker (4) pushed at one going across his body from Gareth Berg and edge to the sole Crusaders’ slip fielder Andrew Strauss.

Van Jaasrveld move to his 67-ball half-century with the fifth boundary of his stay, but he was bowled just four balls later after attempting to pull a good-length ball from Shaun Udal.

With 73 required off the last 10, Kent needed to take risks and though Darren Stevens connected with some lusty blows in reaching 25 he was yorked in the first over back from South African Vernon Philander.

Then, with the tension mounting, Azhar Mahmood (21) set off in search of an impossible single off Philander only to be run out as the bowler followed through to throw down the stumps with an under-arm lob.

Going into the last two overs Kent required 23 for victory, but that proved too much for Geraint Jones, Ryan McLaren Yasir Arafat and Simon Cook as Kent were again found wanting.

Murtagh took three wickets in his final over, and four for 29 in all, to inflict Kent’s second successive Trophy defeat.

Conversely, Kent had put in an excellent display in the field to limit Middlesex to 177 from 36.5 overs of a rain-affected innings.

Crusaders’ openers Ed Joyce and Billy Godleman posted 45 either side of the first rain break, but thereafter Middlesex were guilty of tossing away wickets.

Joyce (15) skied a full-length ball from Yasir Arafat to Rob Key at mid-off then, after a second wicket stand worth 59, young left-hander Godleman ran himself out after calling for a chancy single to Rob key at short cover.

Two runs later Andrew Strauss, cutting hard to backward point, set off for a run but Ryan McLaren hurled himself to his left, stopped and threw in to the striker’s end where keeper Geraint Jones ran in to complete the run out of dangerman Owais Shah for two.

Strauss (33), in attempting to pull against McLaren, top-edged to deep mid-wicket where substitute Neil Dexter held a steepling chance.

Eion Morgan (29) saw McLaren take a superb catch in front of the Pavilion then Darren Stevens also made good ground at the Nursery End to account for Vernon Philander (12).

The trend continued when Yasir Arafat ran in at third man to snaffle a low chance off Tim Murtagh’s upper cut then, from the penultimate ball of the innings, Ben Scott’s inside edge went through to Geraint Jones.

Mahmood finished with two for 29 and Arafat two for 26, but Kent made matters harder for themselves by conceding 32 extras including 16 wides, seven of them by McLaren.