Denly does damage as Middlesex lose to Kent
Kent 200 (46 ovs): Northeast 55; Roland-Jones 3-35, Franklin 2-26
Middlesex 154 (46 ovs): Compton 37, Franklin 33; Denly 3-20
Kent (2 pts) beat Middlesex (0 pts) by 46 runs
Former Middlesex batsman Joe Denly proved an unlikely tormenter with the ball as his old side were beaten in the Royal London One-Day Cup at Canterbury.
Denly, who returned to Kent from Lord’s in 2015, took 3-20 to drive a fatal hole in the Middlesex lower order, as they failed to chase down 201.
Earlier, Toby Roland-Jones claimed three wickets in Kent’s innings, which looked short of par, but only Nick Compton (37) and James Franklin (33) got going in reply.
Middlesex won the toss in overcast conditions and opted to bowl, with Roland-Jones having Daniel Bell-Drummond caught behind with the second ball of the match.
Home skipper Sam Northeast (55) put on 52 with Denly and 44 with Sean Dickson before he perished sweeping against Ravi Patel.
Franklin took a couple of wickets, though the highlight from a Middlesex perspective was Adam Voges’ excellent catch at slip to remove Matt Coles.
Roland-Jones wrapped up the innings by yorking last man Mitchell Claydon, with four of Kent’s 50 overs still to be bowled.
Middlesex’s chase was undermined by the loss of cheap wickets at regular intervals, beginning with openers Dawid Malan (8) and Nick Gubbins (1) falling to Wayne Parnell.
They recovered slightly with Voges and Compton adding 47 before 41-year-old Darren Stevens accounted for the Australian with a superb return catch.
John Simpson was run out by 12th man Will Gidman, after Compton had called for a sharp single, and then occasional leg-spinner Denly took charge.
He had Ryan Higgins caught behind, trapped Toby Roland-Jones lbw in the next over, before leaping full-length to his left to claim a rasping James Franklin drive, with Parnell (3-33) completing victory.
