Darren Stevens celebrates win with Hamidullah Qadri (PC: Twitter)
The Royal London One-Day Cup 2022 resumed on August 30 with two semi-finals across Southampton and Hove.
In the first of the two fixtures, Kent Spitfires successfully punched their tickets for the final by knocking Hampshire out of the tournament.
Kent Spitfires’ 46-year-old all-rounder Darren Stevens played a blinder in a crunch run-chase against Hampshire. Chasing 311 for a spot in the final, the right-hander wiped out 84 of those runs with his unbeaten knock from just 65 deliveries.
The seasoned campaigner struck 11 boundaries and three sixes in the process, including a four that brought up the winning runs for his side. Kent’s poster boy of the season, Ollie Robinson, also clubbed 95 at number three, after arriving to the crease within the opening over of the innings.
Earlier, the Hampshire batters had piled up 310-9 off their 50 overs, courtesy of some sparkling half-centuries by captain Nick Gubbins, Aneurin Donald and Felix Organ.
Stevens, who crafted a match-winning run-chase with the bat, also kept the scoring rate under check from his end. Bowling his full quota, the medium pacer conceded just 45 runs.
Kent Spitfires will now face Lancashire in the final on September 17. The showdown will be played out at Nottingham’s Trent Bridge.
Brief scores:
Hampshire: 310-9 (50)
Nick Gubbins 75 (84), Felix Organ 54 (38)
Joe Denly 2-48, Hamidullah Qadri 2-53
Kent: 313-7 (49)
Ollie Robinson 95 (89), Darren Stevens 84* (65)
Jack Campbell 3-72, John Turner 2-38
Kent won by 3 wickets
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