Northants dish out Kent defeat
Niall O'Brian weighed in with 72 to see Northamptonshire to a match-winning total of 244 for six against Kent at Canterbury
Kent missed out on the NatWest Pro40 Division Two runners-up cheque for £25,000 after slumping to a 99-run defeat to Northamptonshire in their final match of the season at the St Lawrence Ground.
Chasing the Steelbacks’ total of 244 for six, Kent's makeshift side slipped woefully short of their target as they were bowled out for just 145 with nine overs to spare.
Having lost the toss, Northamptonshire were indebted to opening batsmen Stephen Peters and former Kent wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien for what proved to be a match-winning opening stand worth 101 inside 12 overs.
Top-scorer O'Brien hit an excellent 72 from 52 balls, including 11 fours and two sixes.
O'Brien and Peters took advantage of an inexperienced Kent attack to lift a number of sixes to a short boundary on the Old Dover Road side of the ground as the pair cantered along at eight an over throughout their impressive opening stand.
Peters fell when thrashing a catch to deep-square off the bowling of left-arm spinner Rob Ferley then O'Brien miscued an attempted lofted drive against James Tredwell over long-off into the hands of James Hockley at long-on.
Kent clawed their way back into things with some tighter spin bowling from the triumvirate of Hockley, Tredwell and Ferley but the game slipped away from the home side once acting captain Justin Kemp was forced to turn to his rookie seam attack.
Rob White took full advantage of some wayward pace bowling thereafter to post an unbeaten 70 from 80 balls to set Kent a run rate that would prove beyond them.
The Spitfires needed a solid start to have any chance of chasing down their total but once Sam Northeast chipped a catch to deep square-leg for nine to make it 16 for one the writing was well and truly on the wall for a home crowd approaching 3,000.
His opening partner Hockley, who did well earlier to take 2-32 with the ball, went on to top score with an eye-catching 55 from 72 balls.
But once he chipped a return catch to spinner Nicky Boje to make it 103 for five, Kent's outside hopes of victory evaporated.
