Kent go top

Young guns Sam Billings and Alex Blake led the way with the bat as Kent crushed Sussex by seven wickets in front of a Hove full house to leapfrog their local rivals and go top of the NatWest T20 Blast's South Group table.

Blake finished on 52 not out from 32 balls and Billings was unbeaten with a 24-ball 39 in an unbroken fourth wicket stand of 91 in 8.3 overs as Sussex's 136 for eight was made to look totally inadequate as Kent's seventh victory in 10 group games arrived with a thumping 5.4 overs to spare.

It was a good night for experienced Kent pair James Tredwell and Darren Stevens, who combined to take three wickets for 40 runs from eight skilful mid-innings overs after Sussex had been put in.

Billings and Blake hit two sixes and 11 fours between them with some exhilarating hitting.

Both batsmen reverse-swept Will Beer for fours of remarkable power, while Blake drove Mike Yardy witheringly for four before slashing Tymal Mills and lofting Beer for further boundaries.The left-hander then topped the lot by swinging Beer for a mighty six over wide long on.

Billings, 24, who had warmed up by pulling and extra cover driving Chris Liddle for fours in the seventh over, welcomed the left-arm seamer's return to bowl the 13th by smashing him high over long-on for six as the youthful pair made light of coming together with Kent 46 for three.

Daniel Bell-Drummond leg-glanced the first ball of Kent's reply for four but top-edged to deep midwicket at the end of the over, and Sam Northeast slapped an Ollie Robinson long hop to extra cover on 13 in the middle of a fifth over that still cost the bowler 16 runs as Fabian Cowdrey, promoted to open because of Joe Denly's side strain, struck him for a six and two fours.

Cowdrey, however, slogged Beer's leg spin to mid-on after reaching 23 from just 11 balls and it was left to Billings and Blake to hurry Kent to their modest target.

Sussex lost openers Luke Wright for 12 and Chris Nash for 13, and never really got going.

The influential Wright lofted Mitch Claydon straight for six, survived a hard chance to deep mid-off next ball, then mishit the next delivery to Stevens coming in from long-off. Nash flicked a ball from seamer Ivan Thomas straight to short fine leg.

Despite Matt Machan's 32-ball 39, they struggled in the middle overs against accurate bowling from the 33-year-old Tredwell and 39-year-old Darren Stevens.

The pair slowed the scoring and took three wickets between them as Sussex limped from 44 for two at the end of the powerplay to 82 for five in the 13th over.

Craig Cachopa managed to swing Tredwell to midwicket for four but, next ball, top-edged to short long leg to depart for 11.

George Bailey made just two before being deceived by Tredwell's off-spin and stumped, while Machan hit Stevens to long-on after a good contribution containing five fours.

It got worse still for Sussex when Beer, on six, picked out long-off in Cowdrey's first over of low-slung left-arm spin - and it was 112 for seven in the 18th over when Claydon returned to see Robinson flip a reverse paddle to Adam Ball at short fine leg.

A streaker briefly halted proceedings in the closing stages - but there was no disrupting Kent as Harry Finch hit a six and two fours in an unbeaten 35 from 28 balls.

Yardy pulled the penultimate ball of the innings for four to go to nine before having his stumps spread-eagled by Claydon, trying to flick the final ball to long leg.