Kent Spitfires (116-3) beat Gloucestershire (113 all out) by seven wickets in opening T20 Blast South Group game at Canterbury

There was a winning start to Kent Spitfires’ T20 Blast season as they eased past Gloucestershire in their first 2023 South Group game on Wednesday night.

An unbroken 45-run fourth-wicket partnership between the returning Joe Denly and an aggressive Jordan Cox saw them to a seven-wicket success after they had skittled the visitors for 113.

Denly said: “It feels really good. To do it the way we did it was, obviously, really positive for us.

“Obviously, Gloucestershire have been a little bit of a bogey team for us over the last few years.

“To get a win first up against them gives us great confidence.”

The away team won the toss and elected to bat first, with recently-signed bowler Arafat Bhuiyan and Alex Blake missing out for The Spitfires.

Kent skipper Sam Billings also re-took the gloves, having passed that responsibility to Cox for their past two County Championship Division 1 clashes.

Spinner Jack Leaning (2-23) was surprisingly handed Kent’s first over - to good effect in front of a big midweek crowd of 3,700.

Michael Hogan (3-13) put in a similarly strong start and collected their first wicket in the second over, with Grant Roelofsen (1) picking out all-rounder Joey Evison on the legside boundary.

But the third over saw Miles Hammond hit the first six off Leaning before Australian overseas fast bowler Kane Richardson’s first over in a Kent shirt didn’t exactly go to plan. The 32-year-old went for 19, including a no-ball and three boundaries.

Just two balls later, though, Leaning had his and Kent’s second wicket. He cleaned up Hammond for nine, with the away side 41-2 at the end of the powerplay.

Grant Stewart’s first over proved expensive, sent for 13, while the eighth over also saw spinner George Linde (0-29)