Jaydn Denly, Ben Dawkins guide Kent to victory

Kent Spitfires beat Lancashire by 22 runs in a Metro Bank Cup thriller at Beckenham, despite a magnificent century from Josh Bohannon.

Jaydn Denly and Ben Dawkins both hit their highest List A scores, making 91 and 85 respectively as Kent posted 315 for 8.

Bohannon, who batted through what looked like significant pain towards the back end of his innings, made 133 from 110 balls, including 17 fours and two sixes, but when he fell to Denly in the 47th over, Lancashire's last-wicket duo of Tom Bailey and Charlie Barnard needed 30 from the last three overs.

Bailey hit the first ball of the 48th for six, but he was run out by Chris Benjamin chasing a non-existent single and Kent had won with 15 balls remaining. Kent's Matt Parkinson finished with 3 for 57 against his former county, while Marcus Harris made 54.

Lancashire chose to bowl but failed to take a vital wicket: Denly was on 2 when he was put down by keeper George Bell off George Balderson. Assuming he'd been caught Denly was out of his ground when he was nearly run out by a shy at the stumps from first slip.

The teenage duo responded by putting on a record first-wicket stand of 155 for Kent against Lancashire, with Dawkins making the early running and blazing 50 from 43 balls before Bailey had him caught by Bohannon in the 25th. Kent's next highest partnership was 36.

Bailey struck again in his next over, getting Joey Evison for four and Denly was lbw to Arav Shetty nine runs shy of a century. Benjamin was the next to go for 34, caught by Luke Hands off Charlie Barnard.

Harry Singh bowled Harry Finch for 15 and Balderson had Ekansh Singh caught by Joseph Moores for 21.

Lancashire might have had even more joy but Shetty somehow dropped an easy caught-and-bowled chance off Jack Leaning when he was on six. Leaning couldn't cash in however and was out for 17, ramping Balderson straight to Marcus Harris.

Grant Stewart clubbed two sixes in the final over but was run out off the final ball for 32 from 17 balls.

Matt Quinn struck in the second over of the chase, getting Bell caught by Benjamin at first slip for a duck, but Kent then lost captain Stewart after what looked like a recurrence of a thigh injury, pulling up at the start of what would have been his fourth over. Quinn was also forced off with an unspecified injury.

Evison took over and bowled Michael Jones leg stump for 26, but Bohannon and Harris hit back with a partnership worth 96 that was broken when the latter hit Parkinson to the sub fielder Fred Klaassen at cow corner.

Parkinson then had Harry Singh caught by a diving Jack Leaning for 5 before Leaning got Joe Moores for 19, just as the 16-year-old was looking set, thanks to a brilliant catch by Ben Compton, also a sub.

When Leaning then removed Balderson for a duck, caught by Denly, Kent looked favourites but Bohannon reached three figures after hitting a Denly full toss for four and Shetty was looking good until Parkinson had him stumped by Finch for 27, ending a stand of 54.

Denly got Luke Hands for 3 and, with 50 needed from the last five, the 46th went for 11, but at the end of the 47th Bohannon holed out to Evison and was caught by Klaassen on the boundary before walking off to a standing ovation.

Bailey responded by whacking the next ball, from Parkinson, for six, but after taking a single from the next ball, Charlie Barnard called a suicidal single and Bailey was run out by Rizvi and Benjamin and Kent were finally off the mark in Group B.