CRICKET
The Twenty20 Cup is a tournament for the 20 overs, one innings version of the game, unlike the proper version which has two innings and unlimited overs.
It's the Quarter Final stage, and last year's winners, Kent Spitfires, have reached the Semis by beating Warwickshire Bears...
Stevens helps Kent to finals day
BBC
Stevens also played a key role as Kent Spitfires triumphed in the 2007 competition
VS
TWENTY20 CUP, QUARTER FINAL
KENT SPITFIRES: 175-6
WARWICKSHIRE BEARS: 133-8
The Spitfires win by 42 runs
Warwickshire Bears: Trott, Carter, Troughton, Maddy, Frost, Powell, Botha, Groenewald, Salisbury, Woakes, Martin
Kent Spitfires: Denly, Key, Walker, Kemp, Mahmood, Stevens, Jones, McLaren, Tredwell, Arafat, Cook
Darren Stevens excelled with bat and ball as holders Kent beat Warwickshire to reach the Twenty20 Cup semi-finals.
Stevens hit a 32-ball 69, including six fours and five sixes, and Azhar Mahmood made 25 off 13 balls to help the visitors post a competitive 175-6.
Jonathan Trott and Jim Troughton helped Warwickshire recover from a poor start, and Ant Botha made 35 of 19 balls.
But Stevens and Yasir Arafat shared five wickets to prompt a middle-order collapse and hasten Kent's 42-run win.
The Spitfires join Essex, Middlesex and one of Nottinghamshire and Durham in finals day at the Rose Bowl on 26 July.
"It was a pretty ordinary wicket but Darren played an unbelievable knock," Kent captain Rob Key told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Warwickshire Bears celebrate after the dismissal ofJoe Denly of Kent Spitfires
"We were really struggling but he turned it round for us and gave us a comfortable win.
"Azhar's given us a massive boost since coming in from Surrey. We were very lucky he wanted to come to us and we signed him purely because he was streets ahead of any other player we had or could have got.
New Zealand seamer Chris Martin bowled an impressive opening spell for Warwickshire and Kent ambled their way to 60-3 at the midway stage of their innings.
That Stevens was able to score heavily as Kent made 99 off the last six overs was thanks in no small part to two tactical errors by Bears captain Darren Maddy.
Kent Spitfires' Darren Stevens in his way to scoring a match-winning 69
Kent had been reined in by spinners Ian Salisbury and Botha but Maddy withdrew Botha from the attack and recalled seamer Tim Groenewald.
That was the signal for Stevens to attack, and he lifted Groenewald for two sixes in an over that cost 22 runs.
Worse was to follow for the hosts when Chris Woakes was reintroduced by Maddy at the City End.
The England Under-19 seamer's first three legitimate balls went for 26 and he was ordered out of the attack by umpire Rob Bailey after bowling to many beamers, but not before Stevens had clubbed him for three maximums.
Maddy completed the over himself and though he bowled Stevens with his first ball, 33 runs had been conceded.
Stevens and Mahmood put on 60 in just three overs for the sixth wicket and Kent's late aggression contrasted starkly with their early struggles against the moving ball on a slow pitch.
Neil Carter, often their danger man in the group stages, was bowled by Arafat in the second over for two and Trott holed out to mid-on.
Troughton, Maddy and Botha offered resistance but Stevens made sure of the man-of-the-match award by taking 2-29 with his tricky medium pace. "It will be a great finals day," said Key. "You've got three teams from the South Division so we know each other inside out and it's going to be a very competitive contest."
Kent Spitfires (on the right) celebrate taking another Warwickshire Bears wicket
Ant Botha offers some late hope for the Bears, but they were ultimately defeated
news.bbc.co.uk/port
The Twenty20 Cup is a tournament for the 20 overs, one innings version of the game, unlike the proper version which has two innings and unlimited overs.
It's the Quarter Final stage, and last year's winners, Kent Spitfires, have reached the Semis by beating Warwickshire Bears...
Stevens helps Kent to finals day
BBC
Stevens also played a key role as Kent Spitfires triumphed in the 2007 competition
TWENTY20 CUP, QUARTER FINAL
KENT SPITFIRES: 175-6
WARWICKSHIRE BEARS: 133-8
The Spitfires win by 42 runs
Warwickshire Bears: Trott, Carter, Troughton, Maddy, Frost, Powell, Botha, Groenewald, Salisbury, Woakes, Martin
Kent Spitfires: Denly, Key, Walker, Kemp, Mahmood, Stevens, Jones, McLaren, Tredwell, Arafat, Cook
Darren Stevens excelled with bat and ball as holders Kent beat Warwickshire to reach the Twenty20 Cup semi-finals.
Stevens hit a 32-ball 69, including six fours and five sixes, and Azhar Mahmood made 25 off 13 balls to help the visitors post a competitive 175-6.
Jonathan Trott and Jim Troughton helped Warwickshire recover from a poor start, and Ant Botha made 35 of 19 balls.
But Stevens and Yasir Arafat shared five wickets to prompt a middle-order collapse and hasten Kent's 42-run win.
The Spitfires join Essex, Middlesex and one of Nottinghamshire and Durham in finals day at the Rose Bowl on 26 July.
"It was a pretty ordinary wicket but Darren played an unbelievable knock," Kent captain Rob Key told BBC Radio 5 Live.
Warwickshire Bears celebrate after the dismissal ofJoe Denly of Kent Spitfires
"We were really struggling but he turned it round for us and gave us a comfortable win.
"Azhar's given us a massive boost since coming in from Surrey. We were very lucky he wanted to come to us and we signed him purely because he was streets ahead of any other player we had or could have got.
New Zealand seamer Chris Martin bowled an impressive opening spell for Warwickshire and Kent ambled their way to 60-3 at the midway stage of their innings.
That Stevens was able to score heavily as Kent made 99 off the last six overs was thanks in no small part to two tactical errors by Bears captain Darren Maddy.
Kent Spitfires' Darren Stevens in his way to scoring a match-winning 69
Kent had been reined in by spinners Ian Salisbury and Botha but Maddy withdrew Botha from the attack and recalled seamer Tim Groenewald.
That was the signal for Stevens to attack, and he lifted Groenewald for two sixes in an over that cost 22 runs.
Worse was to follow for the hosts when Chris Woakes was reintroduced by Maddy at the City End.
The England Under-19 seamer's first three legitimate balls went for 26 and he was ordered out of the attack by umpire Rob Bailey after bowling to many beamers, but not before Stevens had clubbed him for three maximums.
Maddy completed the over himself and though he bowled Stevens with his first ball, 33 runs had been conceded.
Stevens and Mahmood put on 60 in just three overs for the sixth wicket and Kent's late aggression contrasted starkly with their early struggles against the moving ball on a slow pitch.
Neil Carter, often their danger man in the group stages, was bowled by Arafat in the second over for two and Trott holed out to mid-on.
Troughton, Maddy and Botha offered resistance but Stevens made sure of the man-of-the-match award by taking 2-29 with his tricky medium pace. "It will be a great finals day," said Key. "You've got three teams from the South Division so we know each other inside out and it's going to be a very competitive contest."
Kent Spitfires (on the right) celebrate taking another Warwickshire Bears wicket
Ant Botha offers some late hope for the Bears, but they were ultimately defeated
news.bbc.co.uk/port