Match Report: Kent Spitfires vs. Somerset
The Kent Spitfires welcomed Somerset to The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence in Kent’s second home match of the 2023 Vitality Blast.
Kent Spitfires welcome Surrey to ‘Fortress Canterbury’ for a Sunday afternoon T20 match at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence this weekend!
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Somerset have beaten the Kent Spitfires by 13 runs on a Baltic night in the Vitality Blast at Canterbury, via the Duckworth-Lewis Method.
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The contest was marred by three rain interruptions, but Somerset eventually restricted Kent to 112 in pursuit of a revised target of 126 from 15 overs, Ben Green taking three for 19 and Lewis Gregory stifling the hosts when they needed 18 off the last over.
Somerset were all out for 154 from 20 overs, Tom Lammonby their highest scorer with 34. Kent’s 11th hour signing Wes Agar took 3 for 18, while Michael Hogan claimed three for 33 but unexpected rain ruined the game as a spectacle and the hosts were always behind on DLS, despite 29 from skipper Sam Billings.
Both sides were missing key players, with Kane Richardson unavailable through illness and Craig Overton rested. The latter was replaced by Josh Davey while Kent announced, half an hour before the start, that Agar, part of their red-ball squad, had agreed to stay until July.
After Kent chose to field, Tom Banton hit the first two balls for four but he was out for 12 when he skied Hogan to Jack Leaning, who took a juggling catch.
Tom Kohler-Cadmore smashed Joe Denly for 20 in the third over, but with Agar poised to bowl an unexpected squall then sent everyone scurrying for shelter.
The players returned after a six-minute delay and Agar’s first ball as a spitfire splayed Will Smeed’s stumps, bowling him for a duck.
After an 11-ball 23, Kohler-Cadmore hit Michael Hogan almost vertically and he was taken by Jordan Cox at mid-off.
Joey Evison then removed Tom Abell for 11 with a full toss that he inexplicably hit straight to Daniel Bell-Drummond at cover.
When Lammonby drove Grant Stewart for four in the ninth it ended a spell of 6.2 overs without a boundary but Stewart then removed Gregory for 13, the victim of a superb diving catch by Hogan, a day shy of his 42nd birthday.
The 15th over went for 17 but Lammonby then tried to scoop Stewart and only succeeded in chipping him to Billings, before Green was bowled by Agar for 22.
In his 300th Twenty20 match, Roelof van der Merwe gave Somerset something to bowl at but he had a let off when Cox nearly reproduced his miraculous “Air Jordan” dismissal from the 2021 Blast final between these sides. Van der Merwe creamed Hogan to cow corner and although Cox managed to parry the ball back behind the boundary, it was just out of Denly’s reach. He hit 12 from the next three deliveries but was then caught on the boundary by Jack Leaning for 17.
Leaning sprinted to deep mid-wicket to snare former Spitfire Matt Henry for a golden duck off Agar and Peter Siddle was run out off the last ball of the innings.
The target looked modest, but Somerset struck early in the chase. Tawanda Muyeye went for just five, miscuing Davey to Abell and Henry then ripped out Denly’s off stump.
Kent were on 37 for two when the rain returned in the sixth over and another half hour was lost.
When play resumed, a Siddle jaffa bowled Daniel Bell-Drummond for 13 and van der Merwe had Cox caught by Henry for eight. Billings scooped Gregory for an elegant four but was bowled by the next ball.
A further delay left Kent needing 54 from 4.1 overs and after a fleeting revival Green bowled George Linde for 13 and had Stewart caught by Lammonby for four.
Van der Merwe held a tough chance to remove Leaning for 10 off Siddle and Agar fell to a brilliant boundary catch by Henry.
Kent needed 18 from Gregory’s final over, but the first five yielded just four and Joey Evison was caught by Lammonby off the last ball.
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Kent’s Wes Agar said: “It was stop start and Twenty20 is a massive game of momentum and when you’re trying to arrest that momentum it makes it harder when you’re going out there to bat. Saying that again, they bowled really well and we probably just didn’t match them tonight.
“I think the new ball gripped well which made it difficult for new batters and it seemed to slow down a little bit in our innings. I think it was similar in their innings. But like I said, when you lose the momentum it doesn’t help when you’re trying to go at 12 an over.”
(On his unexpected debut) “In a way it was a little bit of a blessing hearing that Richo had gone down. Getting such short notice to play you don’t have to think about it too much and yeah it’s an awesome moment for me. I made my debut in the fur-day stuff and to be over here and play Twenty20 is something that I’m proud of. I’m excited to be playing again (but) we know we need to win games of cricket to stay alive in this competition.
“We saw glimpses out there, you saw Bilbo hit some good balls out there in the middle. We’ve got firepower in the shed and you just have to go one game back when we made 180: that’s a score that wins you games of cricket more often than not. We’ve got it there, we just need to put all the pieces together.”
The Oldest Rivalry comes to Canterbury on Sunday!
Kent Spitfires welcome Surrey to ‘Fortress Canterbury’ for a Sunday afternoon T20 match at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence on 4 June!
Buy your tickets now to save money on On The Day prices:
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Members do not need to pre-book their space at T20 matches as per last season – entry will be gained by scanning a valid 2023 Kent Cricket Membership card at the gate.
The Frank Woolley Stand is already completely SOLD OUT for this fixture. An allocation has been set aside for Members & Six Pack Plus Ticket Holders.
Those unable to join us at The Spitfire Ground can purchase the Live Stream for this match via KentCricketPlay for £5.99 (FREE for all 2023 Kent Members) now:
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You MUST register an account to be able to watch any streams of home Kent Spitfires T20s this years, & we recommend that you register before the day of the match.
Those unable to join us at The Spitfire Ground can purchase the Live Stream for all untelevised home matches via KentCricketPlay for £5.99 (FREE for all 2023 Kent Members) now:
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Buy your T20 tickets now to save money, avoid disappointment & to lock in supporting your Spitfires during an exciting Summer of white-ball cricket!
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Members do not need to pre-book their space at T20 matches as per last season – entry will be gained by scanning a valid 2023 Kent Cricket Membership card at the gate.
Should seated areas such as the Frank Woolley Stand also sell-out, an allocation is set aside for Members & Six Pack Plus Ticket Holders.
