Kent Spitfires captain Jack Leaning on batting-first policy after One Day Cup win over Middlesex at Beckenham

Captain Jack Leaning insisted Kent’s decision to bat first was down to the pitch at Beckenham rather than a winning formula.

Both previous victories for Kent Spitfires in this summer’s One Day Cup had come when setting targets for their opponents, and that trend continued against Middlesex with a convincing 134-run win on Sunday.

But Leaning wanted to bat first because the game was taking place on a used surface.

“That was probably more down to the surfaces rather than a gameplan as such,” said Leaning, on his decision to bat first against Surrey on Friday and then Middlesex.

“It’s actually worked quite nicely for us as a team so maybe it’s something we need to look at going forward.

“In 50-over cricket, a lot of teams do like to chase but once you’ve got the runs on the board and you bowl quite nicely as a team it’s easy to restrict runs and do it that way round. If we come up on pitches like that in the future then it’s an option for us.

“The boys gave us a nice platform and the pitch deteriorated quite quickly which is quite unusual for Beckenham, usually it’s a high-scoring affair.

“With it being a used one to start, it became quite tough in the middle and towards the back end, and they bowled nicely as well. At one point we were looking at 320 or 330 which we thought was an over-par score but they bowled well to restrict us to just short of 290.

“The way the pitch deteriorated I thought we were in a commanding position.”

Leaning has not contributed the weight of runs he’d have hoped this summer but he made 68 from as many balls against Middlesex to follow up his 87 at The Oval.

“I’ve not had my best year this year, I’ve had a lot of games where I’ve had starts and not really gone on,” he admitted.

“To contribute in