Leaning fifty fires Kent to 87-run win over Surrey
Kent 330 for six (Leaning 87, Bell-Drummond 65, Blake 62) beat Surrey 243 for 7 (Patel 68, Clark 55, Parkinson 4-43) by 87 runs
Jack Leaning led from the entrance as Kent Spitfires beat Surrey by 87 runs in a Metro Bank One-Day Cup contest on the Kia Oval that additionally featured a dream debut cameo, with each bat and ball, from 17-year-old Jaydn Denly.
Skipper Leaning top-scored with 87 from 94 balls in Kent’s 50-over complete of 330 for six after which bowled ten overs from the Pavilion End for simply 37 runs together with his off-spin to set the tone for a Surrey wrestle to 243 all out in reply, with leg spinner Matt Parkinson additionally impressing as he took 4 for 43.
Alex Blake, hitting 62 from solely 50 balls, and Daniel Bell-Drummond, who scored 65, have been different Spitfires’ batting stars in what was their third-highest List A complete towards Surrey.
Only Ryan Patel, with 68, and Jordan Clark – seventh out for 55 off 48 balls – threatened to interrupt Kent’s maintain on the sport as they labored their approach via the Surrey batting line-up.
Denly – the nephew of Joe Denly, who missed this recreation via damage – marked his debut by taking a wicket together with his third ball. Brought on to bowl his left-arm spin when Surrey have been 176 for 4 after 35 overs, he bowled Cameron Steel for 25 via an tried paddle-sweep after which nearly bowled Ben Geddes with an outstanding supply as he went on to document a wicket maiden.
Geddes did swing him for six earlier than being bowled by Parkinson for 17 and Clark hit Australian quick bowler James Bazley for 2 massive sixes and departed disgruntled after mis-hitting a waist-high full toss from Hamidullah Qadri to lengthy on.
Blake later took a superb diving catch on the lengthy off boundary to dismiss Conor McKerr off Parkinson, who then hastened Surrey’s demise by bowling Dan Moriarty, and the match ended when Yousef Majid was bowled by Qadri, who completed with 3 for 50.
Surrey’s chase started badly, with Dom Sibley edging a Grant Stewart outswinger behind to go for five and though Patel and Rory Burns added 98 for the second wicket – with Patel twice muscling Qadri’s off spin for legside sixes – the pair by no means actually received on prime of Kent’s bowling, with Qadri lastly bowling Burns for 43 because the left-hander tried to chop a ball that was too full for the shot.
Ben Foakes made solely 7 earlier than falling to Parkinson, leg-before sweeping, and Patel then fell in Nathan Gilchrist’s first over, skying to level after going through 67 balls.
Kent’s glorious complete was constructed round stands of 113 and 88 for the second and third wickets, off 19 and 13 overs respectively, and following a stable opening partnership of 48 between Bell-Drummond and Ben Compton, who made 27 earlier than clipping Moriarty’s left-arm spin to extensive mid on.
Bell-Drummond’s fluent 78-ball effort included six fours and it was one thing of a shock when he went again to Steel’s leg spin and was bowled by a ball that turned appreciably to hit the highest of off stump.
Leaning had by then pushed Steel excessive over further cowl for six but it surely was the arrival of Blake at No. 4 which introduced Kent’s actual acceleration in direction of 300 and past.
Blake warmed up by smearing and pulling successive Steel deliveries for 4 and when Dunn changed him the highly effective left-hander crunched the seamer brutally again over his head for an enormous straight six.
Two balls later Blake launched Dunn for an additional six over lengthy on after which lower the final ball of the over for 4 to race to 44 and Kent’s complete to 229 for two with ten overs remaining.
Young sluggish left armer Majid’s reintroduction to the assault was greeted by a Blake reverse hit for 4 and a extra orthodox lofted drive over further cowl to finish a 37-ball fifty. There was yet one more outrageous reverse scoop for 4 off Clark earlier than Blake’s advantageous innings was ended by a intelligent boundary-edge catch by Patel, who threw the ball up as he stepped over the rope and accomplished the catch after he had jumped again on to the sector of play.
By then Leaning had additionally gone, skying an tried pull at Clark to keeper Foakes, however a late flurry was supplied by Stewart, with a clubbed straight six off Clark in a 13-ball 26, and by Harry Finch’s ingenious 34 off 17 balls.
A dramatic ultimate over introduced 20 runs as Finch ramped paceman McKerr for 4, slashed him over level for six, drove him to further cowl for an additional 4, and was leg-before to the penultimate ball making an attempt to reverse-paddle. That meant one ball for Denly to face on his senior Kent debut and {the teenager}, a left-hander, lower away for 4 a low full toss with an actual flourish.