Surrey 174 -5 (Evans 52, Smith 49*) beat Kent 173-5 (Jacks 3-28) by five wickets
Surrey pulled off a last-ball win against Kent Spitfires after a nerve-shredding run chase at Canterbury in which they successfully managed a target that had swollen to 48 from the last four overs.
Surrey were nine short entering Michael Hogan's final over. They tied the scores with one ball remaining when Jamie Smith shuffled across his stumps to sweep a boundary, and Jack Leaning just failed to cling on to a fierce drive from Smith at short point when Hohan delivered a low, wide full toss off the last delivery.
Surrey went second to Somerset in South Group while kent, with only one win to their name, need a rapid change of fortune.
Surrey seemed to be cruising to the target after Laurie Evans hit 52, but a cluster of wickets kept Kent in contention until Smith, who finished unbaten on 49, and Sean Abbott edged them over the line for a five-wicket win.
Earlier, Will Jacks took three for 28 as the Spitfires were limited to 173 for 5. That was a recovery: only 122 for five after 16 overs, Kent at least made things interesting. Leaning was unbeaten on 34 and Sam Billings was Kent's next highest scorer with 30.
Kent were unable to reward a crowd of 4,500, modest perhaps in the great scheme of things, but believed to be a record for a Sunday afternoon at the Spitfire Ground,
After winning the toss, they lost Tawanda Muyeye for nine at the end of the first over when he was bowled by Jacks. Joe Denly then blasted 27 from 14 balls, but when Jacks pinged his off stump it drastically slowed the run rate.
Daniel Bell-Drummond was out for 25 when he drove Jacks straight to Abbott at deep mid-on and 6.2 overs went by without a boundary until Jordan Cox pulled Chris Jordan for four in the 11th. Billings then reverse swept Sunil Narine for six in the 13th but he was bowled leg stump off the fifth ball of the over.
The score would have been significantly lower had Surrey not shelled four chances. Cox was the first to be reprieved when he was dropped by Jamie Overton on 20, although he only added another three when Overton atoned, snaring him on the boundary after he had reverse-swept Narine.
Leaning was then dropped by Gus Atkinson on seven and George Linde was on 15 when Jacks parried a catchable slog off Jordan over the rope for six. Ben Foakes couldn't cover enough ground to snare Leaning after a miscued scoop off the same bowler. Leaning cashed in when he hit Sam Curran for 16 off the 20th, including an overthrow after a rash shy at the stumps by the bowler from the final delivery.
The total allowed the home fans some hope and, although Jacks and Evans charged to 62 for nought at the end of the powerplay, there was a mini-wobble when Jacks was out for 30, skying Denly to Hogan. Grant Stewart then duped Sam Curran, who was caught by a diving Joey Evison at mid-off for 10.
When Linde struck twice in 13th to remove Foakes and Evans, both caught on the boundary by Kane Richardson and Muyeye respectively, the game was back in the balance and in the next over Tom Curran swiped Stewart to Richardson, leaving Surrey on 106 for five. At that point Abbott and Smith intervened. With 48 needed from the last four Kent were arguably favourites, but Richardson's 17th over went for 16, Stewart's 18th went for 14 before the penultimate, from Richardson, shipped seven. Then came Smith's final assault.
