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Lefebvre sends shiver through Kent

Kent (229) bt Holland (167) by 62 runs

Holland, the competition's giantkillers, failed to bring off another shock, but if sheer enthusiasm by their players and supporters had been the yardstick Kent would surely have gone the way of Durham.

As it was, Holland managed to send a shiver through the English by ripping out the last six men in the space of 22 deliveries for only 18 runs. Roland Lefebvre, formerly of Somerset and Glamorgan, returned five for 26, but Holland's fielding was slipshod for a dozen or so overs in the second quarter of the game, which allowed Kent to wriggle off the hook.

After a 90-minute delay at the start because of drizzle the sun came out to warm an enthusiastic crowd on a ground seemingly sculptured out of the surrounding forest.

Kent were put in on a pitch made soggy by heavy rain and Trevor Ward and Robert Key struggled against the accuracy of Asim Khan, at 37 the oldest man on the field. He bowled an opening eight-over spell of nagging seam for only 20 runs and, with Lefebvre conceding only 12 runs in his first six-over burst, Kent were well and truly pegged back and had Ward, driving, taken at backward point.

But the support bowling fell well short of these high standards and ones and twos were pilfered, the fielding became ragged and Andrew Symonds smacked a 37-ball half-century. Key took 48 more deliveries to reach the same mark but a total of around 275 was in prospect. Then Mark Ealham, sent back by Nigel Llong, was run out after a crisp 35-ball knock which included sixes off spinner Dick Kramer and left-armer Luuk van Troost.

Llong went next ball, leg before, and Lefebvre, an outstanding 'death' bowler during his days in Wales, proved he had not lost the magic yorker by taking the last three wickets in five balls. That gave him his best figures in limited-overs cricket since taking seven for 15 for Somerset against Devon nine years and 93 one-day games earlier.

``It's nice to know you can still do it,'' said Lefebvre, 36, the man of the match. ``But we didn't field well and conceded 30 or so runs too many. But we showed we have some fight and don't just hold up.''

Where the Dutch were mean in parts, Kent were miserly throughout on a pitch where stroke-making was never easy and not helped by the meadow-like outfield.

Ealham and Julian Thompson put together 18 overs for only 45 runs, the former claiming leading run-maker Roger Bradley, caught at cover when aiming through midwicket. Thompson took the wicket of Feiko Kloppenburg, one of only three men under 30 in the Dutch team, when he got one to leave him.

A soaring run rate proved insurmountable despite the brave hitting of van Troost and Tim de Leede, who hoisted Matthew Fleming for sixes. It was as well they did not lose the ball; the England and Wales Cricket Board provided only one for each innings.