Chopra's double drains Middlesex

Middlesex 177 for 4 (Voges 81*, Simpson 50*) trail Warwickshire 486 for 6 (Chopra 228*) by 309 runs
Scorecard

Warwickshire bagged four wickets for four runs in the space of 10 deliveries to take command of their clash with Middlesex in Uxbridge.

After their acting captain Varun Chopra declared unbeaten on 228 and with his Warwickshire side sitting pretty on 486 for 6, Middlesex crumbled to 28 for 4 before launching a comeback after tea to reach 177 for 4 at the midpoint of the game.

Having fielded in blazing heat for the best part of 10 hours, Middlesex quickly wilted in the face of some impressive new ball bowling by the reigning champion's attack. Dawid Malan fenced at one from left-armer Keith Barker and nicked to third slip then, four balls later, Joe Denly was squared up by a leg-cutter to edge to the same fielder.

Without addition to the total Sam Robson followed a lifting delivery from Chris Wright to pick out Jeetan Patel for a third successive catch at third slip then Neil Dexter feathered Wright's next delivery through to the keeper to go for a first-ball duck.

John Simpson survived Wright's hat-trick ball and, after the tea break, joined forces with Adam Voges to frustrate Warwickshire's bowlers throughout the third session.

Voges, the Australian right-hander, posted a 70-ball 50 with eight fours and went in at stumps on 80 not out, while Simpson reached the landmark from 86 balls and with nine fours in an unbroken fifth-wicket stand of 149. Even so, the hosts will go into day three requiring a further 160 runs to avoid the follow-on.

Warwickshire batted for much of Tuesday's opening two sessions before Chopra's selfless declaration gave them a session and eight overs of day two in which to make inroads into the Middlesex top-order.

Having featured in stands of 113, 113, 55, 100 and 66 Chopra - who was dropped twice on the opening morning before even scoring a run - finally said enough soon after 3pm having batted nine-and-a-half hours for his double century.

When only five short of equalling his career-best 233 (scored for Sri Lanka Premier League side Tamil Union against Sinhalese SSC in Colombo, January 2012) and 14 short of his 1,000th run of the summer, Chopra called time on his marathon stay of 428 balls that led to 20 boundaries.

Resuming on 141, Chopra soon lost his third-wicket partner Ateeq Javid for 22 when he prodded forward to a Corey Collymore delivery only to edge to the keeper. Left-hander Tim Ambrose marched in to add more pep to the innings with a brisk 60 from 78 balls before his push drive against off-spinner Ollie Rayner picked out Malan at short extra cover.

Having gone it at lunch on 388 for 4, Warwickshire promoted Chris Woakes to carry in the impetus Ambrose had given them and he duly obliged with a straight six against Ravi Patel in a cameo 34 that ended when he chipped a return catch to Rayner.

Middlesex dropped their fourth catch of the innings when Rikki Clarke, on 10, saw Joe Denly down a skier at long-on, but only 12 runs later Clarke miscued to cover against Collymore to see Voges pull off a fine over-the-shoulder catch running back toward the rope.

Chopra declared soon after throwing the gauntlet down to his bowlers to extract some response from a, hitherto, extremely placid Park Road pitch - which they duly did.

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Rushworth leaves Durham Onions dilemma

Durham 253 and 208 for 2 (Borthwick 117, Jennings 65*) lead Derbyshire 113 (Rushworth 6-64) by 348 runs
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Six wickets for Chris Rushworth, who began the match expecting to be a temporary stand-in for Graham Onions, and a century by Scott Borthwick put Durham in a position of total command on the second day of their LV= County Championship match against Derbyshire at Chester-le-Street.

After dismissing Division One's bottom club for 113, Durham reached 208 for 2 in their second innings to lead by 348. Keaton Jennings, who narrowly missed out on a maiden Championship hundred in the first innings, was unbeaten on 65 after sharing a stand of 168 with Borthwick.

This was one of Derbyshire's most pitiful displays of a season which seems certain to end in immediate relegation back to Division Two.

Resuming on 15 for 1, they never recovered from losing lost two wickets in the first eight balls. The Durham seamers produced some excellent swing bowling in the baking heat and the only lengthy resistance came from Shivnarine Chanderpaul, who batted for 103 minutes for 14.

Rushworth swung one in to take out Richard Johnson's off stump in the first over and went on to finish 6 for 64. He is the one player named to stand down if Graham Onions is not required by England at Trent Bridge. It will be intriguing to see if Durham replace him.

Wayne Madsen tried to turn Callum Thorp's second ball of the day to leg and gave the first of four catches to wicketkeeper Phil Mustard. Thorp also had Dan Redfern caught at first slip in recording figures of 11-5-11-2, then Mark Wood struck in his second over when Tom Poynton edged a drive.

Ben Stokes troubled Chanderpaul more than anyone, but it was the irrepressible Rushworth who removed him with the third ball of his second spell. The West Indian made a very late decision to play at it and edged to Mustard.

Two balls later Jon Clare wafted loosely to be caught at gully, completing Rushworth's second five-wicket haul of the season.

Derbyshire were 81 for eight at lunch, needing 23 to avoid the follow-on, and Rushworth had five for 39 at that point. He came under fire for two overs before taking the final wicket when he bowled Mark Footitt for 16.

Mark Stoneman, captaining Durham in the absence of Paul Collingwood with a thumb injury, fell lbw to Tim Groenewald for 10 when shouldering arms.

But Derbyshire began to look demoralised as Borthwick raced to 50 off 48 balls, pulling powerfully as he took advantage of too many short balls.

He reached his 117-ball century with a six pulled over mid-wicket off left-arm spinner David Wainwright, but departed for a career-best 117 when he was lbw on the back foot to the off spin of Redfern.

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Rees makes immediate impact

Glamorgan 196 for 3 (Rees 84*, Goodwin 57*) trail Hampshire 341 (Dawson 72, Vince 80, Hogan 3-48, Cosker 3-82) by 145 runs
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Gareth Rees scored 84 not out on his first appearance of the season as Glamorgan fought back on the second day of their LV= County Championship Division Two clash with Hampshire at Cardiff.

Out of favour all summer, left-handed opener Rees was only in the Glamorgan side because of an injury to Will Bragg.

But Rees and veteran Murray Goodwin put on an unbeaten 112 in 39 overs for the fourth wicket as Glamorgan finished the day on 196 for 3 in their first innings, 145 behind.

Hampshire's last five wickets could only add a further 67 runs before they were bowled out 10 minutes before the lunch interval.

Seamer Hogan broke through as early as the fourth over of the day to have Liam Dawson caught at slip by Jim Allenby, who then had Sohail Tanvir caught behind.

Adam Wheater and Danny Briggs stopped the rot to add 47 for the eighth wicket, but Wheater was caught at point trying to reverse sweep slow left-armer Cosker.

David Balcombe edged Mike Reed behind before Cosker wrapped up the innings to have James Tomlinson caught at slip by Allenby only 10 minutes before lunch.

In reply Glamorgan had reached 114 for 3 by tea with opener Rees reaching 50 from 110 balls with eight fours.

But he had to watch as he lost three partners in the afternoon session. Ben Wright was caught behind chasing a wide one from Tomlinson. And 24 for one became 35 for two when Stewart Walters went for a nine ball caught at slip by Sean Ervine off Tanvir.

Rees and Marcus North combined to put on 49 for the third wicket but North was stumped by Adam Wheater going down the pitch to the first ball of left-arm spin he had faced from Briggs.

From 84 for 3, Rees and Goodwin took their stand to 100 just before the close, and in the last over of the day Goodwin completed his half-century from 115 balls with seven fours.

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Brooks' five demolishes Leicestershire

Yorkshire 117 for 3 (Hodgson 52*) beat Leicestershire 113 for 9 (Brooks 5-21) by seven wickets
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Jack Brooks sensationally ran through Leicestershire's top order inside the first eight overs to put Yorkshire on track for a seven-wicket victory and their first Friends Life t20 win of the season at Headingley.

He single-handedly left Leicestershire reeling on 38 for 5 and although they recovered to 113 for 9 it was an insufficient total to unduly worry Yorkshire who reached their target with seven wickets and 19 balls to spare.

Victory for the home side lifted them off the foot of the North Division table and boosted their chances of qualifying for the quarter-finals but it left Leicestershire with only two points from five matches at the half-way stage of their programme.

With skipper Andrew Gale out of action for three matches because of a broken hand, Yorkshire were led by Azeem Rafiq and his decision to field first was immediately justified by Brooks as he steamed his way to career-best figures of 5 for 21 off his four overs.

It was only the second five-wicket haul by a Yorkshire bowler in the competition's history and Brooks' figures left him as the leading wicket-taker of the competition with 11 dismissals for 102 runs at an average of 9.27.

Brooks first struck with his third ball which Greg Smith attempted to pull but only succeeded in giving a simple return catch. In his next over Brooks got rid of Josh Cobb, thanks to a wonder catch by Gary Ballance. The batsman drove high over Ballance at mid-off and the fielder dashed towards the boundary edge at long-off to hold on to an overhead catch with his left-hand as he dived forward at full stretch.

The slump continued as Brooks picked up his third wicket in eight balls, Shakib Al Hasan hitting straight to Joe Sayers at point. Matt Boyce then glanced onto his own stumps and Brooks secured his fifth wicket when Joe Burns lobbed up a catch to Liam Plunkett.

Although Leicestershire went on to record their lowest score against Yorkshire, Anthony Ireland managed to take them into three figures by driving three big sixes in his 23 off 15 balls. The visitors were more successful hitting the ball in the air than keeping it on the ground and they struck a total of six sixes compared to only five fours.

Phil Jaques stroked a couple of early boundaries for Yorkshire before driving Ireland straight to Rob Taylor in the covers but Sayers, replacing Gale in the side, entertained the 4,100 crowd with some sparkling strokes in a 41 stand in five overs with Dean Hodgson.

Sayers drove Ireland high over long-off for six the ball after striking him for four and he followed up with another fine boundary through extra cover.

There were further boundaries for the left-hander off Taylor and Matthew Hoggard, who later pulled up on the boundary edge and had to leave the field for treatment, but the end came for Sayers when he drove Jigar Naik hard to Cobb at cover for 28 from 23 balls with four fours and a six.

Adil Rashid was lbw in the same over to make it 54 for 3 but Hodgson and Ballance took complete control with an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 63, Hodgson calmly making his way to a career-best 52 from 46 balls with seven fours while Ballance was unbeaten on 21 from 20 deliveries with three boundaries.

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Bowlers set up thrilling win for SBP

State Bank of Pakistan 139 for 8 (Saeed 38, Mudassar 3-15) beat Water and Power Development Authority 136 for 7 (Nasir 26, Waheed 3-31) by three runs
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State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) overcame a stop-start batting performance to beat Water and Power Development Authority (WAPDA) by three runs to record their first win of the Ramadan T20 Cup.

Choosing to bat, SBP's openers began brightly with Rameez Raja collecting a four off the first ball. But just as Raja and his opening partner Farrukh Shehzad were getting into their stride, Mohammad Mudassar accounted for both of them in successive overs to leave SBP at 36 for 2 in the sixth over. SBP flourished again with Adnan Raees and Usman Saeed as they added 52 runs off 38 balls, but both of them were removed in the 17th and 19th overs respectively. SBP lost a further three wickets in the last seven balls to score 139 in 20 overs. Zulfiqar Babar and Mudassar took three wickets apiece for WAPDA.

WAPDA began well and had the target in sight even as late as the 12th over when left-arm spinner Mohammad Waheed turned the game around. Needing 70 runs off 51 balls with eight wickets in hand, the well-set Sohaib Maqsood was run out and Waheed capitalised by removing Mohammad Ayub and Saad Nasim to leave WAPDA at a precarious 92 for 5 in the 16th over. Ayaz Tasawwar came up with a threatening cameo but fell in the eighteenth over. With 12 needed off the last over, Rizwan Haider came up with two crucial dot balls to give away only eight and seal the win.

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Evans, Chalmers put Scotland in command

Scotland 212 and 149 for 4 (Chalmers 79* Varaiya 3-29) lead Kenya 101 (Allan 32, Evans 6-30) by 260 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

Derbyshire fast bowler Alasdair Evans took six wickets as Kenya collapsed to 101 all out on day two. Ewan Chalmers led Scotland's reply in the second innings with his second first-class half-century to push the lead to 260.

Kenya started well with opener Duncan Allan playing a patient innings. But Evans and Majid Haq, bowling in tandem, were highly impressive, both restricting and hurting the Kenyan batting order. Hiren Varaiya and Irfan Karim fell to them before Allan's long vigil, 32 off 87 balls, too came to an end, caught by Haq off his own bowling to leave Kenya at 65 for 4 just before lunch.

Nehemiah Odhiambo was the only batsman to attack the Scottish bowling, making a quick 19 before being trapped lbw by Evans, who rounded up the tail claiming the final four wickets on the way to his 6 for 30.

Scotland's second innings got off to a horrid start as Freddie Coleman was adjudged lbw off the second ball to continue his miserable series. Opener Chalmers showed the most composure out of the top three, playing with great care early in his innings to ensure the Kenyan attack did not make any further inroads. Craig Wallace, when on 3, hit the only six of the day, a lofted drive over the head of James Ngoche. However he was caught behind by wicketkeeper Karim off left-arm spinner Varaiya while attempting the sweep.

Chalmers put on 72 runs with Richie Berrington for the third wicket, both batsmen displaying their talent, especially with their shots through the covers. It was the second time in the match that Berrington was involved in a key partnership, but the Varaiya-Karim combine proved to be his end as well as he was dismissed for 31.

Captain Preston Mommsen fell for one but Chalmers quietly ticked along to a deserved half-century, having offered very few chances and will look to complete his first first-class century when play resumes tomorrow.

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Ashes tradition cannot disguise flaws

England are currently No. 3 in the Test rankings; Australia are No. 4. There is no amount of marketing or jingoistic hubris that can dress up the Investec Ashes series as a battle between the two best Test side.

While the careers of most England and Australia players will be judged disproportionately on their performances in Ashes series, it is worth putting this encounter into context. England are currently No. 3 in the Test rankings; Australia are No. 4. There is no amount of marketing or jingoistic hubris that can dress this series as a battle between the two best Test side.

It is, like the Glasgow or Liverpool derbies, an encounter dripping with tradition and significance for those involved but, in the grand scheme of things, it is another step on the journey for both sides as they seek to retrace their steps on the road back to former heights. England cannot claim to be No. 1 again until they defeat South Africa. But defeating Australia would represent a decent step in the right direction.

They are expected to do just that. Not since 1978-79 have England gone into an Ashes series as such overwhelming favourites. On that occasion, when England went on to win 5-1, Australia had the valid excuse that their squad had been weakened by World Series Cricket and could therefore dismiss the result as something of an aberration. This time, neither side can have any excuse.

It is worth reflecting on how that situation has arisen: how a side that for many years beat England with almost embarrassing ease has sunk to arguably the lowest point in its history and how an England team that, less than a decade-and-a-half ago, sunk to the bottom of the Test rankings, has risen to touch - albeit briefly - the top spot in the rankings in all three formats.

The root of the answer is in the question. England were so awful for so long that there was, eventually, a realisation that things had to change. The defeats were so painful and so damaging to the ECB's hopes of developing the game commercially that it was agreed - at long last - that the England team had to be prioritised and every act in domestic cricket geared towards ensuring the success of the national team.

So, central contracts were introduced in 2000 to help ensure that players reached international cricket in the physical and mental condition to give it their best. Two divisions were also introduced to the County Championship in 2000 to introduce a tougher competitive edge to domestic cricket, while the ECB also invested in a very well-equipped national performance centre in Loughborough and more age-group and A team tours to help bridge the gap between the domestic and international games.

They invested in better facilities and the best coaches; they invested in longer tours and better planning; they identified the best players at a young age and they tried, wherever possible, to stick with them whatever the fluctuations of form and fortune. In short, a game that was still amateur in many ways in 1999, has been dragged into the professional world by 2013.

It would be stretching a point to suggest that Australia have gone in the other direction. But, while England made a point of toughening up their domestic cricket, Australia introduced an age qualification into their second XI competition, so that only three players in each team could be aged over 25. As a result, there was an exodus of wisdom and experience in Australian domestic cricket.

Meanwhile, they altered their academy system so that, instead of identifying the best young teenage players in the country, they started to concentrate on those who had already started their professional careers.

And while England have made a point of consistency of selection over the last decade, Australia are just hours from the start of an Ashes series yet it remains almost impossible to predict the identity of their side. They have changed their coach, their keeper, their opening batsmen and their new ball bowlers in recent months and, since the retirement of Shane Warne, have given a Test cap to every spin bowler in Australia with a pulse and bladder control.

There are some lessons there for England. County cricket is currently awash with rules that incentivise counties for picking young players and regulations that render it increasingly hard to register non-England qualified cricketers.

Equally, there are ever fewer appearances from the best international players in domestic cricket, reducing not only the quality of competition but the ability of young players to learn first hand from the best in the business. While the motivations for that are admirable, they are in danger of compromising the standard of the domestic game which may well, in a few years, manifest itself in a weaker international team.

The current team is benefitting from the tough domestic scene that pervaded about a decade ago. It was that environment in which Kevin Pietersen, who arrived in the UK as a modest spinner and has developed into one of the best middle-order batsmen England has ever selected, learned his trade. It was that environment in which Alastair Cook, who has already broken a host of England Test batting records and has much power to add, learned his trade.

It was that environment in which James Anderson, England's most skilful swing bowler since Sir Ian Botham, and Graeme Swann, their best off-spinner since Jim Laker, honed their trade. And it may well prove to be that environment that makes the difference between the two side in this series.

There are concerns for England. England's slip catching has, of late, been fallible and they have never adequately replaced the fielding of Paul Collingwood, in particular. They may have some issues, too, over the potency of the attack on a Trent Bridge pitch that is not expected to help conventional swing or spin bowling. Reverse swing, a skill with which England probably hold the edge, may prove crucial in the first Test.

Jonny Bairstow is also a concern simply due to the fact that he has not enjoyed enough cricket to find any form; he has one innings in competitive cricket since the Test series against New Zealand ended in May and that was in a T20 match.

England are favourites. But a series between Nos 3 and 4 in the rankings should not be by any stretch of the imagination be considered a mismatch.

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Let Billy play his trumpet - Swann

England's players' plea to Nottinghamshire to lift the ban on the Barmy Army trumpeter, Billy Cooper, in the first Investec Test at Trent Bridge, has encouraged hopes that the county might yet relax its stance at the eleventh hour.

Graeme Swann said he spoke for the England team in saying that it was "a real shame" that his home club would not allow Cooper - nicknamed Billy the Trumpet - to play as the England side consider him "the unspoken 12th man."

"The players are all in favour of Billy blowing his trumpet wherever we are," Swann said. "He is the unspoken 12th man for us when we are on tour and in big series at home, so I think it's a real shame he's not allowed to play here."

The feeling among England's players has been strong enough for ECB officials to broach the matter unofficially with Nottinghamshire to see if a compromise can be reached ahead of the start of the Ashes series.

Nottinghamshire have long contended that their blanket ban on musical instruments is stated on match tickets and, that being so, they could face requests for refunds from supporters who object to Cooper's playlist.

The ECB, however, is thought to have some sympathy with Cooper's commitment to England's cause - as well as respect for his professional playing ability.

Compromises so far floated include Cooper playing from the balcony of the Trent Bridge Inn behind the ground, something which Nottinghamshire could not control, or even an official guest spot during an interval. Neither solution would recapture the feeling for England players that he plays when they most value it, during good times or bad.

As a Nottinghamshire player, Swann might have been expected to have an influence on the decision. But he admitted that he had tried to persuade the authorities to no avail.

"I know all the team are behind Billy the Trumpet," Swann said. "The Barmy Army are a massive part of the English team. Nottingham have their rules as Lord's do. It's a shame in this day and age they can't bend them for such a big event but so be it, it's not my decision.

"We don't make the rules, we have just got to go out there and play our cricket now it's been decided it's not the right thing to do and I think that's real shame. I have tried to have my say but I have been batted down."

A poll carried out by ESPNcricinfo on the County Cricket Live blog attracted more than 500 votes with only 15% opposing Cooper being allowed to play his trumpet at Trent Bridge.

Nottinghamshire have also pointed out that Cooper was also been refused permission to play his trumpet at the 2005 Ashes Test when England secured victory on their way to regaining the Ashes. Since then, though, his presence has become a more recognisable part of England's Test scene, at home and abroad.

The club aims to identify more with the traditional Test atmosphere at Lord's in contrast to other Test grounds such as Edgbaston and Old Trafford and believes that this policy is justified by ticket sales. The match is sold out for all five days.

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Spinners restrict Scotland to 212

Kenya 11 for 1 trail Scotland 212 (Berrington 62, MacLeod 67, Ngoche 4-58) by 201 runs
Scorecard and ball-by-ball details

It was a slow day for runs in a sun-drenched Aberdeen as Kenya's spinners restricted Scotland to 212, with resistance coming from Richie Berrington and Calum MacLeod, who scored half-centuries.

Scotland captain Preston Mommsen won the toss and unsurprisingly chose to bat on a flat wicket. The squad had a different look from the ODI team, with Calvin Burnett, Ewan Chalmers and fast bowler Alasdair Evans - who had been out of the side for almost a year - replacing the players returning to county duty.

Kenya wicketkeeper Maurice Ouma, who has been nursing an injury, couldn't pull through a late fitness test and it was up to Irfan Karim to take over the gloves. Freddie Coleman opened the batting with Chalmers and looked good as he stroked a boundary off the first ball, and followed up with two more in the subsequent overs. However, he fell after making a start, edging to first slip. The first three wickets for Kenya came caught behind the wicket, including two to Karim.

Scotland got off to a poor start yet again in a four-day game, but Berrington was able to steady the top order by picking off the bad balls and adding 67 for the fourth wicket with Mommsen. Mommsen was later bowled by a Nehemiah Odhiambo yorker while Berrington was also bowled by the left-arm spinner Hiren Varaiya.

MacLeod, who hit an unbeaten 99 against Canada last summer and top scored in both innings against Australia A last month, again showed his class and patience. It took him around 40 deliveries to score his first ten runs. The scoring was slow as the tailenders could not pass double figures. MacLeod tried to accelerate towards the end, hitting the only six of the innings but was caught and bowled off a straight drive by the offspinner James Ngoche for 67.

With a few overs left before the end of play, Kenya lost Alex Obanda for a low score for the fourth time in as many matches on this tour. Kenya ended the day at 11 for 1.

The ground was remarkably different from the rain-hit ODIs earlier in the same week, with the forecast being good for all four days.

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Rossington blast deepens Kent gloom

Middlesex 142 for 1 (Rossington 74) beat Kent 140 for 6 by nine wickets
Scorecard

On a day when British thoughts were largely centred around Andy Murray's first Wimbledon title, Middlesex served up a demolition of Kent at Uxbridge. Adam Rossington's domineering 74, taking advantage of a scorching day, flat track and unthreatening bowling, exposed the inadequacy of Kent's 140.

Kent's day was rather summed up when Rossington was caught at midwicket by Sam Northeast, only for Northeast to touch the rope and concede a six. Rossington hardly required such assistance.

A few days ago, he was seen briefly on Sky TV strolling out with a broad grin on his face to face a couple of balls and win a last-over finish against Essex in front of 20,000 at Lord's. Not remotely as many witnessed a more extensive display of his powers.

On this occasion, It was an innings marked by powerful driving and a relish for hitting the ball in the air; at one stage Darren Stevens was lashed for four boundaries in five balls. Rossington described opening as "the best time to bat" but said that he expects to slip back down the order when Paul Stirling returns from Ireland duty.

But this was a victory set-up in Kent's innings - their total always felt at least 40 runs below par. It was little wonder that there were no shortage of iPads and smart phones on display during Kent's meandering effort, as spectators were understandably distracted by Murray's efforts at Wimbledon.

And even the 140 they recorded owed much to the generosity of Middlesex's fielders: four catches were spilled as players struggled to pick up the ball against the backdrop of the afternoon sun.

Kyle Mills, the Zealand seamer, alone had three catches spilled of his bowling, but, despite a couple of no balls, he was quick and canny in claiming 2-28, bowling at either end of the innings. His opening partner, Toby Roland-Jones, has struggled to replicate his outstanding first-class form in the shortest format. Not today: four parsimonious overs included the scalp of Rob Key to a crafty slower ball.

Much of Kent's batting had a harebrained feel. They are over-reliant on Darren Stevens. After he fell for a belligerent 25, the innings lacked a sense of impetus. Kent have the feeling of a side that badly needs renewal: Adam Blake and Sam Billings, who both hit enterprising cameos, need to become consistent scorers.

Amid the hype about the start of the Ashes at Trent Bridge, Geraint Jones, who made 85 in 2005 there, hit a sparkly 22 to provide a little nostalgia. It was his first T20 game of the season, and seemingly an appearance he had not expected: on Thursday Jones had used his Twitter account to say that "The only positive to come out of not playing the T20's is I can now enjoy guilt free beer day before game!"

Vernon Philander's pace was Kent's last chance of making a contest of the game. Rossington ensured otherwise, driving with panache on both side of the wicket.

Implausible as it sounds of a 37-ball 74, Rossington didn't thrash from ball one, taking nine deliveries over his first two runs. The game was over long before he was bowled attempting to swing a fifth six. It was a deserved scalp for Tredwell, parsimonious amid the pandemonium unleashed at the other end.

That left just enough time for a final flourish from Tredwell's former teammate. Joe Denly's six off Philander - launching him over mid-wicket after shimmying down the wicket - was a reminder of the qualities that briefly seduced England's limited overs selectors. He is a way off an England recall, but how Kent would love him back. They have now lost their first four Twenty20 games: the shortest format is proving no relief in their grim season.

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