Sussex v Kent

Debutant Justin Kemp was the hero with an unbeaten 68 as Spitfires opened their Friends Provident Trophy win account at Hove with a tight four-wicket win over Sussex with only one ball to spare.

Just four days after winning his ECB registration appeal at the Oval, Kemp returned to doing what he does best - big hitting - and in doing so helped a nervy Spitfires over the win line for the first time this season.

In the South East Division game between two sides who had yet to muster a win, Kent appeared to be coasting in their reply until England prospect Luke Wright took two wickets in the space of four balls.

Having lost skipper Rob Key (2) to the new ball, Joe Denly and Martin van Jaarsveld played beautifully in adding 93 in 18 overs for the second wicket.

Van Jaarsveld, who had scored 177 runs in the first two qualifiers at an average of 88.5, looked rock steady in racing to a 44-ball 50 and Denly (43) appeared set to join him until both fell in the same over.

Wright, working up a good head of steam down the slope rushed Denly’s attempted pull shot which looped to mid-on then, three balls later, van Jaarsveld’s push drive brushed the edge and just about carried to Matt Prior.

With the light fading and the floodlights on, Justin Kemp, on his season’s debut, and Darren Stevens, a man out of form and in desperate need of runs, came together but Kent’s asking rate increased while both played themselves in.

Though Sussex were missing their iconic wrist-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who has undergone knee surgery, Michael Yardy stepped in to the breech to send down 10 overs unchanged for 21 runs and heap pressure back on Kent.

Stevens, dropped by Chris Adams at slip when on 14, ran himself out a single later when attempting a suicidal single to cover but the pendulum returned Spitfires’ way when Geraint Jones took 17 off an over from Wright, including a six over cover point.

Youngster Tom Wright conceded five from his next over of off-spin as both Kemp and Jones both failed to connect with attempted big hits and with his score on 24 Jones edged behind off Wright.

Azhar Mahmood, dropped on nought at third man, went for eight when digging out a full-length ball from Kirtley to Smith at backward point and, with rain now falling, Kent’s chances began to look equally gloomy.

With 34 needed from three overs Kemp and fellow South African Ryan McLaren had reached the point of no return and big hits were required.

They took one boundary from the 47th over when Kemp was starved of the strike, leaving Wright to bowl the penultimate over of the reply with 26 still required.

It was then that Kemp finally found his range, hitting two fours and a straight six to move to a 74-ball 50 and, with 18 coming off the over, leaving Kent to score eight to win off Kirtley’s final over.

After a single Kemp hammered a good length ball trhough extra cover for four, scrambled a couple of singles and finished the job with a lofted four over cover to win the game with a ball to spare.

Having been invited to bat, Sharks openers Prior and Luke Wright added 61 in 12 overs as Spitfires’ attack again struggled for line and length – they ultimately sent down 33 extras, 22 of them in wides.

Having switched ends Yasir Arafat finally broke the stand with his third ball of a new stint by trapping Chris Nash (15) leg before as he attempted to whip through mid-wicket.

Prior, comfortable in reaching 31, then chased a wide one from Arfat to edge to counterpart Jones and, seven runs later, Murray Goodwin (5) snicked an attempted drive to bucket-handed Kemp at slip.

Chris Adams, who clubbed an imperious back-foot six over extra-cover off McLaren, perished leg before for 30 after playing back to a darting Cook off-cutter as Kent claimed three wickets in five overs.

Once Cook completed his overs Yardy and Wright (35) to re-grouped with a fifth-wicket stand worth 67 in 16 overs.

The partnership ended in farce though, when Wright set off for a single to mid-on only to slip over, drop his bat and be run out by McLaren’s throw in to Jones.

Yardy moved to a 77-ball 50 with a lap-sweep for four over fine leg but, in trying to repeat the shot against Arafat, simply picked out Mahmood on the edge of the fielding circle.

McLaren finished with nought for 48, Arafat and expensive three for 58 but Cook was the pick with two for 25.