Northeast: Experience of Tredwell and Stevens made the difference
Saturday 4th July 2015
Tidy spells from experienced duo Darren Stevens and James Tredwell set up the seven-wicket win against Sussex Sharks.
Kent restricted the hosts to 136-8 before Sam Billings and Alex Blake saw the Spitfires home comfortably with a swashbuckling stand of 91 off 51 balls.
Sam Northeast, the Kent captain, paid tribute to the bowling of Tredwell, who took 2 for 21 from his four overs, and Stevens, whose four overs earned him figures of 1 for 19.
Northeast said: “Treddy is just bowling so well in white-ball cricket at the moment. He’s up there with the best in the world and if the pitch has even a little bit of grip and turn then he’s a class act.
"Stevo, too, brought all his experience to the fore tonight. He knew exactly how to bowl on that pitch.
“Then, after we slipped to 46 for three, both Alex Blake and Sam Billings reacted brilliantly by continuing to be positive and bat with intent. They quickly took the game away from Sussex with some great batting.
"They also showed their class in that partnership and it was another good match for us in the competition. If we can keep playing like this then we can look ahead very positively to the rest of the tournament.”
Sussex captain Luke Wright said: “It’s very disappointing. I would rather we had been bowled out for 90 by keeping on going hard than getting that sort of total.
"Kent played it brilliantly, though, because even when they lost three wickets for 40-odd runs they kept attacking. We need to dust ourselves off and go again in the next match.”