T20 Blast: Dan Douthwaite blasts Glamorgan to win at Kent

Dan Douthwaite starred for Glamorgan with bat and ball

A powerful assault by Dan Douthwaite, who hit 51 not out off 23 balls, was enough to take Glamorgan to a 35-run win over Kent.

He added 95 with Billy Root for the sixth wicket to drag Glamorgan up to 190-5.

Veteran Darren Stevens, in potentially his final Blast appearance, hammered 34 in the Kent reply.

But they were bowled out for 155 in the 18th over to remain bottom of the South group while Glamorgan are sixth.

Glamorgan made a cautious start though rookie Tom Bevan played a promising cameo for 21, trapped leg-before by Qais Ahmad, as they reached 77-1 at halfway.

Former Kent favourite Sam Northeast, the visitors' stand-in captain, was bowled by Matt Milnes for 33 off 29 balls as he tried to up the run-rate, and Colin Ingram fell to Grant Stewart for 26 off 18 as Glamorgan lost four wickets in the space of four overs to four different bowlers.

But they still had enough firepower to finish with a flourish as Douthwaite and Root set a Glamorgan sixth-wicket T20 record, with three sixes apiece.

They scored 93 runs off the last six overs, with Kent not helping themselves by dropping both batters and having Root caught off a no-ball in a disastrous penultimate over from Milnes which yielded 22 runs.

Glamorgan's bowlers started equally powerfully as Kent lost three wickets in as many overs, including Joe Denly run-out by Root in the opening over.

Alex Blake (32 off 25 balls) threatened to get the home side going before skying a catch off Andrew Salter, who finished with two for 35 after a vintage blast from Stevens.

Stevens holed out to Bevan on the long-on boundary off Douthwaite in the 14th over to leave the lower order with too much to do.

Stewart (23 off 10) almost re-ignited home hopes but was caught on the boundary off Prem Sisodiya, and left-arm seamer Jamie McIlroy (3-31) held his nerve under pressure in only his second match at the age of 28.

Kent finish with just three wins from 13 the season after winning the competition, while Glamorgan came sixth in the South Group after being bottom of the table in 2021.

The two teams now take a break before resuming the Championship on 11 July, when Kent host Northamptonshire and Glamorgan entertain Nottinghamshire.

Glamorgan all-rounder Dan Douthwaite told BBC Sport Wales:

"It's bitter-sweet for us and a bit frustrating to do it this late in the competition when we're out of it, but one of the things we can take into next year is the carefree attitude we played with.

"It was fairly easy coming in with nothing to lose and we could have a crack, batting with Billy and a left-right combination, someone always had the shorter boundary to look for and it came off.

"It's nice to get a few wickets again, especially Darren Stevens, I think my personal competition has been a bit up and down as well as the team's but there's stuff to look forward to next year."

Seamer Jamie McIlroy added:

"It's been a great experience this weekend to work hard, get out there and see your rewards on the pitch.

"It's a big step up from the second team though you do play a lot of people prepping for the first team, but it's more pressure in front of more people.

"I didn't really think first-class cricket was a possibility, I just enjoyed playing club cricket and minor counties, and strung some performances together to fall into it."

Kent coach Matthew Walker:

"It's pretty obvious where we lost this game. We were brilliant up to 13 and a half overs, I thought we were outstanding with the ball and 150 was about right, but those last seven overs cost us 100 runs and some of it was our own doing.

"We had to gamble a bit and people had to chase down 12, 13 and over and we came well short. We're extremely disappointed with how today went and how the whole campaign went.

"I don't think we've really played our best cricket. On a few occasions we did against some good sides, but overall we've got a lot to talk about and a lot to think about."