Haggett & Henry deny Hampshire
Kent Spitfires won by a run against Hampshire as Calum Haggett and Matt Henry conceded just two runs each in their final overs to claim a second successive win in the Royal London One-Day Cup.
Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored with 82 as Alex Blake (30 off 28 balls), Sean Dickson (68* off 41) and Darren Stevens (26* off 23) accelerated in the last ten overs to push Kent Spitfires to their highest ever one-day total of 296-4 against Hampshire.
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Joe Denly (2/67) and Darren Stevens (2/48) struck to restrict Hampshire’s reply to 158-4 off 27 overs before a century stand between Weatherley (105*) and Brad Taylor (56) put the hosts in control.
Former Kent loan signing Weatherley shared a 51 stand with Jimmy Adams (38) before reaching three figures off 99 balls as Taylor secured his second one-day 50 off 57 balls at the other end.
Ice-cold nerves and accurate bowling grabbed victory from the jaws of defeat as Haggett (1/51) dismissed Taylor in a superb penultimate over before the New Zealander Henry finished the job to deny Hampshire.
Earlier, Daniel Bell-Drummond passed 2,000 one-day runs for Kent with his 20th half-century in the format after Taylor (2/35) took the scalps of opener Zak Crawley (bowled) and in-form skipper Joe Denly (25), caught Alsop in the deep.
Heino Kuhn retired hurt after being struck on the arm backing up as Kent Spitfires were invited to bat first on a slow pitch on a large playing surface before Bell-Drummond was run out by Mason Crane’s direct hit.
Blake’s arrival increased the run rate with two fours and two sixes in a cameo of 30 off 28 balls before Dickson reached his seventh List A half-century, adding 56 off the last 31 balls with Stevens.
Batting conditions got easier through the day at Southampton as the Spitfires bowling attack conceded 19 extras including 12 wides to relieve pressure on the Hampshire batsmen before heroics from Kent’s death bowlers.
It is the 14th time Kent have won by a single run in one-day cricket, the first occasion since 2004 against Gloucestershire at Canterbury.
Kent Spitfires return to The Spitfire Ground to play Somerset on Tuesday (29 May, 2pm).
Next weekend, there’s a double-header at The County Ground, Beckenham against Surrey (Friday 1 June) and Gloucestershire (Sunday 3 June). Both matches start at 11am unless stated with gates opening an hour before.
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