Abbott’s pyrotechnics the star of Surrey’s second straight Blast victory
Surrey vs Kent Spitfires
Surrey 223-5 Kent Spitfires 182-7
Surrey won by 41 runs
Vitality Blast South Group Friday 26th May 2023
Peter Moore at the Kia Oval
Australian all-rounder Sean Abbott smashed the joint fastest century in T20 history for Surrey against Kent at the Kia Oval on Friday night.
The 31-year-old hit 11 sixes in reaching three figures from only 34 balls, equalling the feat of the late Andrew Symonds for Kent back in 2004.
Both sides went into Friday’s encounter with an opening win under their belts. Surrey had defeated Middlesex 24 hours earlier whilst Kent got the better of Gloucestershire on Wednesday.
Spitfires won the toss and elected to field first on yet another sunny evening in London.
The hosts opened with a new pair of openers than was on show at Lords with Laurie Evans joined by Will Jacks.
Jacks was fortunate to survive in the opening over after a miss timed pull was put down by xxxxx at fine leg when he had made just four.
For the Spitfires the drop didn’t prove to costly after Jacks had made a further 13 runs when he sliced slow left armer George Linde straight to backward point.
Evans(11) departed soon afterwards, holing out in the deep off Australian Kane Richardson’s second ball. This bought Tom Curran to the middle to join his younger brother Sam after their heroics at the Home of Cricket last night when the pair put on 118 in just 11 overs, it wasn’t to be, with both falling in the space of seven balls. Tom(16) was run out by a direct hit from Jordan Cox at mid off with Sam(15) caught at mid off to leave Surrey 64-4 in the ninth over.
The hosts were indebted to Australian all rounder Sean Abbott who smashed a 50 off only 22 balls including five six’s including two huge maximums off Linde which were deposited high into the Micky Stewart Members Pavilion.
Abbott was in full flow with the bat, even having no sympathy for his fellow Australian Richardson, taking 30 off his third over.
With help from Jordan Clark, the pair added an unbroken 129 for the sixth wicket inside seven overs with Abbott bringing up a sensational hundred by depositing his fellow countryman Michael Hogan straight back over his head to bring up his 11th six, with his hundred coming off just 34 balls.
Abbott finished with an undefeated 110 off 40 balls with 11 sixes and four fours, with Clark on 29, Surrey closed their innings with a highly competitive score of 223-5.
Requiring a shade over 11 an over, Kent needed a fast start. Openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye got them off to a flyer with Kent racing to 75-0 after six overs.
With both openers bringing up their half centuries, Kent were very much in this contest before Sunil Narine made the initial breakthrough having Bell-Drummond(52) caught in the deep.
Spitfires required 113 for victory off the final ten overs, which was reduced down to 89 before Sam Curran returned back into the attack and had Joe Denly(22) caught by Abbott at long on.
Jacks- who took three wickets in Surrey’s victory against Middlesex- bagged the wickets of Muyeye(59) and Linde without scoring in his opening over as Surrey started to turn the screw by steadily picking up wickets as Kent slipped from 108-1 to 182 for 7 with Surrey making it back to back wins in the competition.