Kent booked a place in the semi-finals of the Vitality T20 Blast for the first time in 12 years by beating Warwickshire by 21 runs in the fourth quarter-final, at St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury. They first raced to 162/7, and then bowled Warwickshire out for 141.
After being asked to bat, Kent lost Zak Crawley (4) to Chris Woakes (1-37) in the second over. Joe Denly (11) did not last long either as they were 46/2 after the Powerplay.
Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sam Billings steadied the ship, adding 50 with urgency before Jake Lintott ran Bell-Drummond (53) out in the 12th over. But Billings stayed put. Despite not getting much support after Bell-Drummond’s departure, he struck eight fours and a six in a 37-ball 56 before being dismissed in the 20th over.
With 4-26, Tim Bresnan did the most damage for Warwickshire, while Woakes and Craig Miles (1-31) claimed a wicket each.
The chase was never on the cards for Warwickshire. None of their top order batters made any impact in the contest as they were slumped to 55/6 in 10.1 overs.
Woakes (14) and Bresnan (24) added 29 before the former fell to Matt Milnes (4-24) in the 14th over. Lintott (41 in 20 balls) played a breezy cameo, but it came all too late. Warwickshire were all out on the last ball of the match, with the wicket of Danny Briggs.
Kent will now face Sussex in the semi-final on 18 September, at Edgbaston.
Brief Scores: Kent 162/7 in 20 overs (Billings 56; Bresnan 4-24) beat Warwickshire 141 in 20 overs (Lintott 41; Milnes 4-24) by 21 runs. Player of the Match: Sam Billings.