Essex Eagles v Kent Spitfires
Royal London Cup
The Cloud County Ground, Thursday 11 August
Team News:
Essex Eagles: Josh Rymell, Feroze Khushi, Tom Westley (c), Grant Roelofsen (wk), Robin Das, Luc Benkenstein, Aaron Beard, Aron Nijjar, Shane Snater, Jamal Richards, Jamie Porter.
Kent Spitfires: Tawanda Muyeye, Ben Compton, Ollie Robinson (wk), Joe Denly (c), Alex Blake, Harry Finch, Joey Evison, Hamidullah Qadri, Nathan Gilchrist, Matt Quinn, Navdeep Saini.
Match Details:
Umpires: Billy Taylor & Ian Blackwell
Match Referee: Peter Such
Toss: Essex won and chose to bat
Result: Essex won by 182 runs
Scorecard: View Here
Match Highlights:
Match Reaction:
Shane Snater
Match Report:
Tom Westley scored the sixth one-day century of his career before Shane Snater put in a stellar performance in the field to steer Essex to their first Royal London Cup win of the season.
The Essex captain laid the foundations for a 182-run demolition of Kent in the latest Battle of the Bridge with a third-wicket partnership of 184 in 30 overs with Grant Roelofsen. Westley contributed 109 from 101 balls, while Roelofsen chipped in with a 79-ball 77, continuing an impressive start to his Essex career.
However, that Essex were able to set a target of 332 was largely thanks to a late burst of 41 from 22 deliveries by Shane Snater. Kent’s 20-year-old seamer Joey Evison took some stick but finished with career-best figures of 3-62.
Ben Compton anchored the Kent reply, but without injecting any urgency or pace into his innings of 52 from 82 balls as wickets fell all around him. Snater finally removed Compton to take five wickets in 14 balls and return List A-best figures of 5-29.
After winning the toss and choosing to bat, Westley and Roelofsen joined forces after Essex lost the wickets of Josh Rymell and Feroze Khushi
Westley then accelerated through his eighties, the handbrake off, with three fours in an over from Nathan Gilchrist that ultimately cost 19 runs. A characteristic flick off his legs for his 13th four took Westley to a 96-ball century.
Roelofsen’s innings came to an end after 79 balls when a fast Navdeep Saini delivery sent his middle-stump cartwheeling. Westley followed almost immediately when he scooped Joe Denly to Evison on the fence at long-on.
That wicket-taking combination was reversed with Denly taking a spectacular diving catch at mid-on off Evison to account for Aaron Beard. Four balls later Aron Nijjar, like Westley, picked out Evison on the rope to hand Qadri a wicket.
With Essex in danger of not being able to capitalise on a good start, it needed some lower-order hitting from Snater to push Essex towards a sizeable total.
Saini lost his radar with two balls above waist height to Robin Das that forced him out of the attack mid-over, the second of which was picked up for six over square leg.
More drama was to come in the 10-ball over, which was completed by Matt Quinn, whehn Das found Finch on the midwicket boundary to end a 49-run partnership inside four overs with Snater.
In response, Kent were never really in the chase. They lost Tawanda Muyeye in the sixth over trying to play Jamie Porter to leg but falling to Robin Das at point. Ollie Robinson attacked from the start, hitting two sixes in his 31 before he flicked Porter to deep extra cover where Shane Snater took a spectacular one-handed catch. Khushi then took a stunning catch above his head to remove Denly off the bowling of Aaron Beard.
Kent’s fourth wicket went when Alex Blake flicked Jamal Richards into Beard’s hands on the square-leg boundary. Harry Finch managed just a dozen from 28 balls before he chipped Snater to mid-on.
Evison followed going for an optimistic second run to Snater in the deep and Roelofsen, behind the stumps, completed the run-out.
All the time Compton was accumulating, but at no great pace. His fifty took 76 balls – Westley’s had taken 44, Roelofsen 52 – and included just two fours. But as soon as he had raised his bat, he started to run out of partners as Snater claimed three wickets in an over before completing the rout by removing Compton.
