Bears beat the Kent Spitfires

• 16/05/2010

The Warwickshire Bears made it five wins from five matches after their six wicket victory over the Kent Spitfires.

Ian Westwood invited Kent to bat first after winning the toss at Edgbaston and was rewarded with an early wicket when Jim Troughton took a superb flying catch at backward point off Neil Carter’s bowling to remove Joe Denly for just four.

Chris Woakes then followed up with the valuable wicket of Martin van Jaarsveld (9), well taken at slip by Jonathan Trott as the Bears looked to consolidate their strong start.

The introduction of Boyd Rankin into the attack transformed the Spitfires' innings as he removed Jones, Stevens and Blake in his second over, to leave the visitors on 57-5 in the 13th over.
When Woakes removed Mahmood and Rankin collected a fourth wicket after Cook pulled into the deep, the Spitfires had slumped to 73-7.

At this point, skipper Rob Key and Rob Ferley came together and gave the Kent innings some respectability, adding 94 for the eighth wicket, before Key drove Maddy to Imran at extra cover for 87.

Ferley completed his first one-day 50 before being bowled by Maddy, as the Spitfires' innings closed on 192-9 from their 40 overs. Rankin finished with figures of 4-34, his career best.

In reply, the Bears lost Trott (13) and Carter (17) to the Spitfires' opening bowlers, Ntini and Mahmood, but Ian Bell registered his second half century in three days and, with Jim Troughton (24) and then Darren Maddy, took the Bears into a commanding position before the England batsman was run out by a direct hit from Darren Stevens for 55, after being unable to quite respond to Maddy’s call for a sharp single.

This was to be the Spitfires' final success as Maddy 43* partnered by skipper, Ian Westwood 22* added 65 in an unbroken fifth wicket stand, that took the Bears to a fifth consecutive victory in the competition, by six wickets with five overs to spare.

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