Kentish Gazette Canterbury & District
Rampant Roy too hot for bowlers to handle
‘I was getting a bit of shape in to the right-handers and that meant I was in the game’
was in the game.”
Stevens impressed with the ball, taking 1-28 from his 10 overs after Matt Coles (2- 47) had reduced Gloucester to 29-2, while loanee Will Gidman returned 3-28 against his former employees as the visitors were bowled out in the final over of their 50.
Hamish Marshall top scored with 43 before falling leg before in Jason Roy put Kent to the sword as the Spitfires ended their Natwest T20 Blast campaign with a 37-run defeat against Surrey before a capacity crowd of 25,500 at the Kia Oval on Friday night. The England opener blasted 120 not out from 62 balls as Surrey amassed a formidable total of 212-4 and Kent were then restricted to 175-7 despite an excellent 59 from skipper Sam Northeast. Surrey’s imposing total was based on a remarkable opening partnership of 187 in 17.2 overs between Roy and Australian Aaron Finch, who scored 79 (51 balls). Kent’s reply started with the in-form Daniel Bell-drummond hitting six fours while scoring 31 of the first 35 runs, off just 17 balls, before skying Sam Curran to mid-off. Denly was run out for 20 and Sam Billings stumped for two. Chris Morris bowled Alex Blake for 19 and, later in the over, the 13th of Kent’s innings, saw Darren Stevens superbly held by Roy as he sprinted in from deep cover to take a low catch sprawling forward. Roy was the catcher again, in the next over, when Matt Coles sliced Azhar Mahmood to square cover on the boundary. That left Kent struggling on 111-6 but skipper Northeast and Will Gidman gave the score some respectability with a halfcentury stand. The pair added 52 before Northeast was caught by Finch off Jade Dernbach in the penultimate over. He faced 44 balls and hit two sixes and five fours. Gidman finished 30 not out, from 20 balls.