Kent Spitfires (325-8) beat Leicestershire Foxes (244 all out) by 81 runs to reach Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final

Tight bowling after an impressive batting display saw Kent beat Leicestershire on Friday and qualify for the Royal London One-Day Cup semi-final.

Half-centuries from Joey Evison, Ben Compton and captain Joe Denly, alongside a typically boisterous cameo from Darren Stevens on his return to his old club, saw the Spitfires to a score which looked around par on a good wicket.

In reply, Scott Steel made a solid half-century at the top of the Leicestershire order but, though Wiaan Mulder made a superb 81 off just 71 balls, once the South African was dismissed, the pressure was too much for the Foxes' tail.

Once regular opponents, it had been 12 years since the counties met in List A cricket.

Denly made 39 in Kent's victory that day, and the Kent captain found himself shaking hands with Mulder at the toss, taking over leadership duties from Lewis Hill, ruled out after being struck on the hand while batting in the nets the previous day. Sam Evans came in for Hill at Grace Road, otherwise both sides were unchanged from their final group games.

Mulder's decision to bowl was based on the hope the pitch might still have a little moisture in it but, although Chris Wright and Beuran Hendricks bowled accurately, neither found much movement.

Evison and Compton started steadily before Evison hit Wright for three boundaries in an over, and then, when Louis Kimber was introduced into the attack at the end of the first power-play, he clubbed the occasional off-spinner for three straight sixes.

Leicestershire had taken the gamble of not playing a fifth bowler and it looked as though it was going to backfire, but Mulder turned to another part-time off-spinner in Steel, and the former Durham man obliged when Evison, having gone to his 50 off