Flower stars as Essex beat Kent

TWENTY20 CUP, SOUTH, Chelmsford:
Essex 205-4 beat Kent 169-7 by 36 runs (Essex 2pts, Kent 0pts)

Essex v Kent scorecard

Flower struck 10 fours and two sixes in his 30-ball 61

Grant Flower starred with bat and ball as Essex beat Kent by 36 runs in the battle of the unbeaten teams in the South Division of the Twenty20 Cup.

Flower smashed 61 from 30 balls after openers Alistair Cook (77) and Mark Pettini (40) had laid the foundations for Essex's massive 205-4.

Kent looked to be on course when Martin van Jaarsveld (33) and Geraint Jones (26) took them to 88-2.

But Flower (3-26) removed both men as Kent were restricted to 169-7.

Danish Kaneria also picked up two wickets as Essex showed no signs of missing wicketkeeper James Foster and all-rounder Graham Napier, who have joined up with the England squad for the World Twenty20.

The win takes them level on seven points with Kent at the top of the division with a game in hand.

Essex's total, their second highest in seven seasons of Twenty20, was also the first time a team have gone past 200 in this summer's competition.

Their only other 200-plus total was last season's 242-3 against Sussex, inspired by Graham Napier and his 16 sixes in his world record-breaking 152 not out off 68 balls.