Denly cuts free in landmark efficiency to energy Kent dwelling
Kent 190 for 3 (Denly 76, Bell-Drummond 69*) beat Essex 184 (Lawrence 52) by seven wickets
Joe Denly joined James Vince and Luke Wright in passing 5,000 Vitality Blast runs after a wide ranging 32-ball 76 gave Kent Spitfires their fifth straight victory.
Denly thrashed his thirty ninth T20 fifty and overtook Wright to maneuver simply behind Vince within the all-time run-scoring record – he’s now up 5,050 runs within the competitors.
His tubthumping innings, paired with in-form Daniel Bell-Drummond‘s fifth fifty of the event in a 110 stand, underpinned Spitfires’ chasing 184 with 9 balls to spare.
Essex had been on the receiving finish of a thrashing for the second time in every week to loosen their hopes of progressing from the group, regardless of Dan Lawrence‘s 52.
Tawanda Muyeye fell to a top-edged behind within the third over however that solely introduced Denly to the crease. Two dots, a single and an edgy information to the third boundary underestimated the carnage that was about to unfold, which began with two pulled sixes.
A pair of checked cowl drives may have added factors for aesthetic pleasure, whereas the drive he used to carry up his 18-ball fifty would have knocked out a herd of oxen. He took his tally to 6 sixes and 6 fours earlier than tamely selecting out cowl for 76.
Amongst Denly’s onslaught, Bell-Drummond was classily ticking by way of his repertoire in a 35-ball fifty. He now has 476 runs in 11 innings.
Sam Billings was caught at lengthy off, however Bell-Drummond rose to 69 not out and a 12-ball 20 cameo from Jordan Cox acquired them over the road.
Earlier, Essex had been requested to bat and for the fourth time in 5 video games, misplaced three wickets within the powerplay. Feroze Khushi skied to mid-on the place Wes Agar brilliantly caught – after bowler George Linde had visibly prayed – with Michael Pepper and Robin Das leaving the hosts 55 for 3 after the primary six overs.
Paul Walter got here, was dropped and was pinned by Jack Leaning, who was celebrating his fiftieth Kent T20 look.
Lawrence was usually scratchy however amassed eight fours and a wonderfully-timed six over mid-on in his 33-ball fifty.
He and Matt Critchley had rebuilt with a 57-run stand however each fell inside three balls of one another, with Daniel Sams solely dealing with six balls earlier than edging behind.
Just as Essex seemed like recording a really poor rating, Simon Harmer and Will Buttleman slapped 40 collectively in 16 balls, with Grant Stewart taking the brunt in a 28-run over. But that momentum fizzled out with three wickets falling within the ultimate over.