Kent Spitfires lose One-Day Cup opener
Tom Alsop’s unbeaten century helped Hampshire win by six wickets in the Royal London One Day Cup opener at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.
Hampshire recovered from a patchy start before opening batsman Alsop saw the visitors home with an unbeaten 112 and with 29 balls to spare.
In pursuit of 259 for victory, Hampshire lost Michael Carberry, the former Kent and England opener, lbw to Wayne Parnell’s second delivery of the game. It also proved to be the first and only maiden of the match.
Hampshire’s second-wicket partners James Vince and Tom Alsop bolted, adding 112 in 16 overs.
Vince’s 50-ball stay for a majestic 69 ended when he worked across one from Darren Stevens to be sent packing lbw, but Alsop became the game’s fourth half-century maker after facing 61 balls.
Mitch Claydon jagged one down the slope and through the gate to clip Liam Dawson’s leg stump, then the same bowler found the leading edge of Jimmy Adams’s bat for a looping catch to mid-off.
It proved a false dawn under the floodlights however, as Alsop teamed up with Sean Ervine (33*) to add an unbroken 82 for the fifth wicket and ease their side home. Alsop, who hit his first 50-over century against Surrey last year, reached three figures from 125 balls and with a dozen fours.
Daniel Bell-Drummond and Darren Stevens hit half-centuries as Kent lost regular wickets in posting 258.
Spitfires laid decent foundations through Joe Denly (45) and Daniel Bell Drummond (56), whose first-wicket stand of 94 in 15.2 overs ended when Denly miscued to mid-on against left-arm spinner Dawson.
On a slightly two-paced pitch, Kent’s innings tailed off meekly thereafter with only Stevens providing any form of prolonged resistance. Sean Dickson cut a short one to cover point then, after reaching a 63-ball 50, Bell-Drummond followed suit by flat-batting low to a diving Chris Wood at cover.
Soon after, Wood left the field with a side strain midway through his sixth over, but Kentish wickets continued to fall as Sam Northeast chipped to mid-wicket and Alex Blake played across the line to depart lbw.
Parnell pushed inside the line of a Reece Topley leg-cutter that held its line to trim off stump, then Adam Rouse departed lbw after moving across his stumps to work to leg.
Stevens marched to his 46th List A half-century in his 294th appearance in the format, reaching the milestone from 49 balls with two fours and a brace of sixes, both over long-on.
Coles smeared across one from Dawson to be bowled before Stevens, after another straight six, miscued to extra cover off a leading edge against Topley to go for 60 off 57 balls.
James Tredwell and last man Claydon saw it through to the 50th over before Claydon heaved to mid-wicket to give Topley figures of three for 65. Holland, Dawson and Crane bagged two wickets apiece.
Next up is a trip to Taunton to face Somerset on Tuesday (2 May, 11am) before home matches against Sussex and Middlesex next Friday and Sunday (5 and 7 May, 11am) at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.