Crawley goes through gears to condemn Hampshire to first defeat

Kent Spitfires have handed the Hampshire Hawks their first defeat of the Vitality Blast season, pummelling them by eight wickets at Canterbury.

The Hawks had the misfortune to run into a fully armed and operational Zak Crawley: the England man hit 75 off 43 balls, including three sixes and he enjoyed a stand of 110 with Daniel Bell-Drummond, who made 61 from 40.

Earlier Joe Weatherley hit an unbeaten 63 as Hampshire recovered from 63 for 4 to post 177 for 7, with Tom Rogers posting Kent's best figures with 3 for 33, but as soon as Kent took 22 from the 11th over they looked favourites and they coasted home with an over to spare.

Hampshire chose to bat but lost James Vince in the second over, caught by Wes Agar off Rogers for 6 after a miscue.

Fred Klaassen then got Tom Prest for a four-ball duck, Crawley taking a dolly at midwicket and Toby Albert then pulled Rogers straight to Tawanda Muyeye at square leg for 18.

Dewald Brevis hit the first six when he drove Grant Stewart back over his head and he hit two more before holing out to Matt Parkinson and getting caught by Rogers on the long-on boundary for 24.

Weatherley and James Fuller shifted the momentum by putting on 49 for the next wicket and although the latter was lbw to Joe Denly at the end of the 13th, Benny Howell kept up the pressure.

Kent could have run out either batter in the 16th but somehow got neither and Weatherley pulled Stewart for four to pass fifty, before a couple of late wickets slowed the scoring rate: Agar got Howell for 23 at the end of the 19th, caught on the boundary by Jack Leaning, and Rogers had Chris Wood caught and bowled for nought in the final over.

Kent's reply started relatively slowly and they lost Tawanda Muyeye for 20 in the fifth over, when he skied Wood to Vince. It was 45 for 1 after the powerplay and 75 for 1 at halfway, but at this point Crawley decided to accelerate, hitting Turner for a six into the Nackington Road hedge, then another onto a top floor balcony on the Old Dover Road. He followed that with two fours and creamed Scott Currie through backward point to reach his half-century.

Bell-Drummond passed the same milestone with a towering six over cow corner over Wood, but he finally went in the same over, the 15th, to a stunning catch by Bjorn Fortuin, who cover 25 yards before somehow clinging on.

The Spitfires still needed 16 from the last two, but Crawley dropped to one knee and swept Currie's first two balls for six and four, leaving Denly to seal the win with a violent six over cow corner off the final ball of the over.