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Jones shines as Spitfires turn corner

GERAINT JONES: played a crucial part in the victory. Picture: GRANT FALVEY
GERAINT JONES: played a crucial part in the victory. Picture: GRANT FALVEY

A SPECTACULAR run out by Spitfires' wicketkeeper Geraint Jones ended a fifth wicket stand worth 99 and sealed Kent’s dramatic 22-run National League win over Yorkshire at sunny Tunbridge Wells.

Chasing Kent’s hard fought 208 for seven, Yorkshire recovered from a poor start to reach 163 for four before their two top-scorers Michael Lumb (77) and Richard Blakey (41)top-scorers perished in successive balls.

Blakey called for a quick leg bye single only to lose the race as Jones scampered from behind the stumps to throw down the stumps at the non-striker’s end and bring an end to a brave fifth wicket stand that lasted 24 overs.

Then Michael Lumb, after a competition-best 77 from 99-balls, heaved across the line to Andrew Symonds' next ball to ease the pressure and enable the hosts to canter to only their second win of the campaign.

Symonds finished with two for 33 after stints at either end, but Kent's bowling hero and man-of-the-match was Ben Trott who, after being dropped for this week's Nevill Festival game with Sussex, returned to the side to claim three for 19.

Bowling intelligently within himself, Trott bowled a good, full-length allowing the ball to swing late and dart around off a sluggish surface and did not concede a boundary in his nine overs.

Kent were made to realise very early on that this would be no high-scoring jamboree as Darren Gough sent down an opening maiden that pinch-hitting skipper Mark Ealham struggled to lay a bat on.

Ealham miscued twice but escaped when trying to hit over the in-field, but paid the full price at the third time of asking when lofting a drive to mid-off and give Gough the first of his two for 26 return.

Ryan Sidebottom duly replaced Gough at the Pavilion End and out-gunned his more illustrious team-mate with three for 39 of left-arm swing.

He extended Rob Key’s miserable run with an off-cutter, had Ed Smith caught behind with a lifting leg-cutter then fooled Andrew Symonds into chipping a catch to mid-on.

During his cameo 30 Symonds hit the only six of Kent’s innings but duly ran off the field after seeing the mighty blow knock out a steward sat reading his paper at long off.

The game re-started after a six-minute delay as the elderly man was taken to hospital and Symonds’ demise soon followed, leaving Greg Blewett and in-form Matt Walker to anchor the innings with a fifth wicket stand of 57.

Blewett took two overs to get off the mark and, although never at his most fluent, he dug in to top-score with 46 from 80 balls.

Walker chipped and cut his way to 31 off 46 and Geraint Jones and Peter Trego made useful contributions to help Kent toward a defendable total of 208 for seven.

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