Quick fifty a confidence booster

Daniel Bell-Drummond’s half-century in Kent’s victory over Somerset in the Vitality Blast has given him early confidence in the competition. Bell-Drummond was one of the leading run-scorers in 2017, making 462 runs including four half-centuries. He failed to get off the mark in the tournament opener against Surrey on Friday but his 58 from 39 balls was instrumental in Kent’s eightwicket win in Taunton. Bell-Drummond said: “It was good to get a score in this game as I missed out at The Oval. “It’s a confidence booster for me. It’s about getting in the rhythm of it and feeling confident in this format again. “I was pretty happy with how I played. I would have liked to have stayed until the end but I’m glad we got the victory.” Kent’s bowlers did a lot of the hardwork, restricting Somerset to 159-6 from their 20 overs. Bell-Drummond and Heino Kuhn put on 101 for the second wicket to put Spitfires in a match-winning position. Bell-Drummond said: “It was a good win and nice to get some runs out there. It was a good all-round team performance. “We were a bit rusty at Surrey but we still managed to get the win, which is the sign of a good team when not playing at our best. “Against Somerset it was a good all-round team performance. We bowled really well up top and restricted them to 20 or 30 less than they would have wanted. “The chase in the end was quite comfortable and it was set up by a good bowling performance.” Joe Denly and Kuhn have received most of the plaudits batting at the top of the order this season. Bell-Drummond has been fairly consistent for Kent, averaging 44 in the One-Day Cup as he scored four halfcenturies, including 86 in the final at Lord’s against Hampshire. He said: “Joe and Heino have been brilliant this year. “They were both unbelievable in the 50-over competition and have carried it over into the T20. “For me it’s quite easy batting around them. They are both great strikers of the ball so I can get myself in