Yesterday at Canterbury, not even a limited-overs career best by the Surrey skipper, Mark Butcher, was enough to keep alive his side's hopes of qualifying for the last eight of the Friends Provident Trophy. Having inserted the Kent Spitfires and been made to pay for his decision by Martin van Jaarsveld and Darren Stevens, both of whom hit hundreds and shared in an unbroken stand of 216 in 24 overs, Butcher promoted himself to the top of the order. When the former England left-hander was bowled for 139 in the 43rd over, making room to hit away on the off side, the Brown Caps only required another 45 runs off as many balls with six wickets in hand. But, without their captain at the helm, the visitors lost their way as a former Oval favourite, Azhar Mahmood, picked up 4-40 to hand the Spitfires a memorable 17-run victory.

Thanks to van Jaarsveld and Stevens, Kent transformed a position of 180-3 after 36 overs into 337-3 after fifty. However, it was not simply a story of poor bowling and lusty blows, though in Stevens's case it was chiefly the latter. Once again, Surrey were second best in the field, with a number of long singles being turned into twos; much to Butcher's obvious disgruntlement.

But the Surrey skipper must have drawn encouragement from the way his attack, which was missing Pedro Collins, initially vindicated his decision to bowl first. Chris Jordan accounted for Rob Key with his first ball, in the fourteenth over, then, six overs later uprooted Joe Denly's middle stump to leave the home side 99-2. With Justin Kemp playing on in the 26th over, the 19-year-old's opening spell read 7-1-22-3. However, it was not long before the Brown Caps' grip on proceedings was loosened.

Having already scored two hundreds at Canterbury in this year's Friends Provident Trophy, van Jaarsveld progressed, ominously, to fifty in 58 deliveries when he cut Neil Saker for four in the 33rd over. In the 39th, bowled by Murtaza Hussain, Stevens hit a six over long-on and two balls later, playing a similar stroke, brought up the 200 with a four. The 250 arrived just 24 deliveries later.

Stevens's own half-century was just 44 balls in the making. He celebrated it in the next over by picking Saker up over mid-wicket for a maximum. Van Jaarsveld moved to 95 with a straight driven boundary off Jade Dernbach, but in Saker's final over, which went for 19, Stevens won the race to a century, off 67 deliveries. Van Jaarsveld's arrived in the following over, off 101 balls.

Those who thought that the Spifires' total was beyond Surrey's compass were mistaken. Butcher and James Benning took 70 off the first ten overs and Usman Afzaal gave his captain the support he needed and more, smashing his way to 74 off 60 balls.

In the twelfth over, there appeared to be a controversy brewing, when the umpires decided to replace the ball, but it was soon forgotten and the Surrey captain went to fifty in 43 deliveries two overs later.

At the 30-over mark Surrey were on 214-2 and the Kent bowlers appeared to have no answers. The dismissal of Afzaal, top edging to mid-wicket, did little to slow the run rate but Butcher was beginning to tire and after he went for a 121-ball 139, the visitors imploded.

GO TO:

BACK TO: