Spitfires shoot down Saltires

AFTER last week's emphatic four-wicket Clydesdale Bank 40 win over Leicestershire at Grace Road in what was arguably the Saltires' finest win over an English county, there was a genuine sense of anticipation before yesterday's match against the Kent Spitfires.

Yet on a gloriously sunny day at the Citylets Grange in Edinburgh, the home side won the toss and then stuttered to a total of just 180 for six against a Kent Spitfires side that until yesterday had yet to win a game in any competition year. Even so, the ease with which the visitors surpassed that mark with almost ten overs remaining and just one wicket down provides much food for thought.

"Realistically, 180 was miles short and was never going to be enough on a pitch like that," said Saltires captain Gavin Hamilton. "They bowled very well, put us under real pressure and made it very difficult to get any runs. Ryan (Watson] gave us a good start, but when we lost the four wickets in quick succession it was a long way back. Richie (Berrington] and Macca (Neil McCallum] put us in with a shout, but we still needed to get some early wickets and that didn't happen."

Last week, the Saltires chased a total of 217 to win handsomely, but batting first on a dry wicket on which the seamers were always going to struggle to get any movement, they needed to post a total nearer to 250 if they were to defeat a Spitfires side that has, in batsmen like Rob Key and the big-hitting Geraint Jones, players capable of amassing a hefty total.

The Saltires, who unsurprisingly remained unchanged from the side which won at Grace Road, started with a sense of purpose, with Forfarshire's Watson showing some real aggression and bite as he went after Makhaya Ntini and Simon Cook. He has looked vulnerable at times this year, but against a quality attack he managed to provide a decent foundation for the innings, hitting a succession of boundaries and dominating the strike. Such a bold approach was always going to be risky, however, and after he had pummelled two successive fours off Ntini the South African Test bowler pinged down a quicker delivery which removed the opener's bails. Still, a knock of 24 in 25 balls, including five fours, should have set the tone.

Unfortunately, it didn't. Hamilton followed shortly afterwards for eight, and when the great white hope, the Saltires' Tasmanian overseas pro George Bailey, went for a paltry 16, alarm bells began to ring. By the time Omer Hussain followed with just four more runs added and the Saltires labouring at 4-71 with half their overs gone, the outlook was bleak.

But Berrington has been in fine form this year, and he and McCallum set about the Spitfires with a vengeance. Less than an hour later, when McCallum was bowled by Amjad Khan for 41 off 52 balls, which included one mighty six off Cook, the two batsmen had put on 87 runs for the fifth wicket to bring the Saltires to 158 for five. They had pushed their luck at times, with a McCallum patsy dropped by Khan when he hooked James Tredwell to bring up the hundred, but their intervention came at a crucial time and gave the Saltires a fighting chance. By the time Berrington was dismissed soon after McCallum's departure, tamely dropping a catch into Khan's lap while trying to edge Azhar Mahmood down to third man, he had hit 68, impressive in the circumstances.

Nineteen-year-old Marc Petrie scored his first seven runs of the year as he cut loose in the last couple of overs, with Gordon Drummond adding a solitary run as the Saltires wound up before the 40 overs were finished. If that total looked inadequate even before Key and Joe Denly walked out to bat, once they were in situ it quickly became clear that there could only be one outcome as Gordon Goudie and Neil Laidlaw suffered. Although Denly was bowled by Haq on 38, Kent were scoring at almost eight an over and cruising to victory.

Kent skipper Key played the role of the straight man as he put together a steady innings of 67, including a six and nine fours. Martin Van Jaarsveld, coming in at No.3, played the role of the wild man, the Dane slashing away with abandon as he compiled an innings of 72, scoring the winning runs with a wild swipe to the off side boundary that almost went for six. The Saltires bowlers came in for some real punishment, and none more so than Ryan Watson, whose cameo appearance was mercifully short as he conceded 31 runs off three overs.

Hamilton's side now have to pick themselves up for today's game against a Nottinghamshire Outlaws side lying third in the table and bulging with talent. If they thought it was hard against the Spitfires, then facing opening bowler Charlie Shreck, Ryan Sidebottom, Stuart Broad and Notts skipper Chris Read will undoubtedly make for a tough day at the office.