Kent 203 (Bell-Drummond 38, Blatherwick 4-52) defeated Lancashire 328 for 5 (Bohannon 105, Bell 71, Balderson 57, Vilas 51) by 125 runs.
Josh Bohannon, an England Lions batter, hit his first home run with a fantastic 105. List A century helped Lancashire avenge their Metro Bank One-Day Cup final loss by defeating the Kent Spitfires by 125 runs at Blackpool.
In an ineffective title defense, Kent has now dropped two of its first three games. Bohannon’s 117-ball inning supported 328 for 5.
After Lancashire was introduced, George Bell, Dane Vilas, and George Balderson also contributed half-centuries. Kent Jas Singh, a young seamer making his debut, had a promising 3 for 74 from 10 overs.
Then, Lancashire successfully held off 329 on a Stanley Park field that wasn’t quite conducive to batting. As Kent’s 203 all out in 40 overs was claimed by new-ball bowler Jack Blatherwick, who claimed a career-best 4 for 52 from 10 overs, they put two rainy days behind them.
After a cautious beginning, Bohannon changed gears. Kent deserved more immediate rewards because they played their best with the fresh ball. But they started to look tattered.
They made sure Bohannon didn’t hit a boundary until his 36th ball, a six-over long-on off the off-spin of Hamidullah Qadri, and they only allowed 34 runs from the first 10 overs.
Bell was especially powerful in the area opening as Bohannon blasted four sixes down the ground on route to 71. After Keaton Jennings was caught at second slip by James Bazley, the two combined for 112 runs for the second wicket for a score of 15 for one.
Jack Leaning, the captain of the Spitfires, made four receptions in total. When Vilas and Balderson tried to attack late on but were caught for 51 and 57, respectively, two of them assisted debutant seamer Singh in removing them. Prior to that, the 20-year-old bowled Bell with a throw to the leg.
Bohannon took 113 balls to score his century, which was his sixth in senior cricket overall, just after Lancashire had reached 250 for 3 in the 44th over.
The home innings featured bold strokeplay after overcoming early obstacles posed by Bazley and new-ball partner Grant Stewart, who surprisingly only bowled six overs for 17.
Balderson took just 25 balls to reach his fifty, and with six balls remaining, rookie pro Matty Hurst hit an unbeaten 15 by scooping his first ball over the wicketkeeper.
Kent’s chase then got off to a rocky start, falling to 97 for 4 inside 20 overs.
Before Leaning was bowled by a ball that kept low from Blatherwick in the third over, Ben Compton misplayed a wide ball from Tom Bailey that appeared to stop on him to cover.
Balderson had Daniel Bell-Drummond caught behind for 38 by Hurst after a skied error after Alex Blake drove to midfield against him. Bell-Drummond, who was playing for London Spirit after being released from his Hundred duty, finished as Kent’s leading scorer.
Harry Finch and Joey Evison, who were bowling the fifth wicket, then stabilized the innings with a 51-run stand, with the latter hammering a six off Tom Aspinwall’s seam. But Blatherwick, who rejoined the attack and took three wickets in eight deliveries, including two in two, shattered their aspirations, leaving Kent reeling at 153 for 7 in the 34th over.
In the 32nd over, Finch was caught behind for 31 on an inside edge before a pulling Bazley top-edged his maiden delivery to mid-off. Evison was lbw for 30 in the following over.
Before some exciting hitting from the last-wicket partnership of Singh and Matt Quinn was put to a stop by Aspinwall’s first senior wicket—QQuinn being caught at deep cover by Blatherwick—lleft-arm spinner Jack Morley then struck twice.
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