Partnerships of 85 between Carberry and Loudon and 95 between Walker and Fulton enabled Kent to overcome the early loss of their star batsmen and ease home with seven balls to spare. The lesser-known quartet handed the Spitfires their third victory of the season in Division One of the totesport League, which is now being propped up by last summer’s champions and runners-up Surrey and Gloucestershire.

At one point, however, the hosts must have thought they had done all the hard work by accounting for dangermen Robert Key and Andrew Symonds for a combined total of five runs. Key lofted Azhar Mahmood to mid-on, where he was well caught by Doshi, and two balls into the next over - the fifth of Kent’s response to a target of 231 - Symonds departed lbw without scoring.

But the inexperienced pair of Michael Carberry and Alex Loudon showed great maturity in putting the visitors back on course. They shared in a third wicket stand of 85 in twelve overs. Sadly, having reached half-centuries, both were out to their very next delivery, thus leaving it to Matthew Walker and skipper David Fulton to carry Kent to the brink of a thoroughly deserved win.

The highlight of the Carberry-Loudon alliance was the latter’s destruction of Rikki Clarke, who bowled just one over, which went for twenty-four runs and included a six over long-on off a free hit. Clarke was a constant presence in the field, however, and the 22-year-old’s presence inside the circle meant that the visitors had to work hard for their victory.

Indeed, had Clarke been fielding at short mid-wicket instead of Bicknell when Carberry lost concentration momentarily, on 21, perhaps Loudon would have approached the crucial fourteenth over rather more conservatively and things may have turned out differently.

Loudon made the second one-day fifty of his career before driving loosely at Tim Murtagh, and the left-handed Kent opener, who served his apprenticeship at The Oval, was eventually leg before trying to work Hollioake to leg. Walker struck just three boundaries in his 73-ball innings, one of which came when he launched Adam Hollioake straight down the ground for six. Fulton was equally averse to taking risks, and it would have been fitting had he too finished unbeaten.

The pick of the Lions’ attack was undoubtedly Bicknell, who followed up his twenty-two with figures of one for 33 off nine. Nayan Doshi also did his chances of continuing with Surrey on a match-by-match basis by conceding just two boundaries in eight overs. But it was probably a case of attempting to defend too few runs. Indeed, when one takes account of the absence of Saggers and Sami – not to mention a short boundary on one side of the ground – it would be kind to describe Surrey’s total as modest.

Not for the first time this season the Oval outfit were let down by their top order. Scott Newman, pulling, played on to Ben Trott in the fifth over. Alistair Brown, who found the boundary five times, skied a catch to the wicketkeeper when he attempted to pull Matt Dennington. Ramprakash and Clarke appeared as if they were just about to form a significant alliance when Clarke was yorked by Simon Cusden, who bowled nine wides in his previous 2.2 overs.

The introduction of Symonds’s medium pace put the brakes on Surrey and eventually accounted for Jonathan Batty and Azhar Mahmood in identical fashion. Sandwiched in-between was the departure of Mark Ramprakash, who was making his 200th National League appearance, and Hollioake, who holed out to the deep mid-wicket boundary.

At 143 for seven in the 32nd over, the home side were in danger of not using their full allocation. But then Nadeem Shahid, in his first totesport League outing of the summer, and Martin Bicknell shared in a one-day league club record eighth-wicket partnership worth 75 in thirteen overs, beating Ian Ward and Alex Tudor’s previous best of 70 at Trent Bridge in 1999.

Shahid made an undefeated 61 off 55 balls, including nine fours and a six over mid-wicket off Trott. With 49 runs coming off their last five, the Lions went into the break with hopes of pulling off a victory, but after seeing the back of Key and Symonds they did not count on the visitors’ depths of resolve.

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