“If you make 180, you shouldn't be losing,” is one Rob Key's Twenty20 philosophies. Key, captain of Kent, the champions, lost the toss, as he did for most of last season's competition, and made a eccentric decision to keep Simon Cook on, but otherwise Kent were masterful with the bat, ball and electric in the field.

Surrey folded under the pressure in the last ten overs of their chase. Kent, who have won their first two, will take some beating, Surrey, who have lost their first two, have already taken a beating.

Another good advert for the new form of the game was played out in front of easily the biggest cricket crowd of the night, even with England playing.

There was a well lubricated sell-out crowd of 23,000, some of whom were more interested in building pint pot towers and a few of whom were escorted from the stands by the police.

Kent reached their 181 benchmark thanks to the bravery of Darren Stevens. After being hit on the grill by Luke Wright during the win over Sussex on Wednesday, Stevens had an operation to re-set his broken nose yesterday morning. But he insisted on playing and finished a flagging Kent innings with a one-handed six over extra cover.

Stevens, who hit the winning runs off the last over in the final last season, helped take 17 off the last from Jade Dernbach.

Kent made a good start and Joe Denly scored his second consecutive fifty, off 31 balls. Key made 42 off 31. But he was run out after being sent back by Justin Kemp and Kemp holed out to long-on after blasting three sixes in a 16-ball 30.

Kent have the strongest batting in the country by some distance, but the theory that wickets do not matter looked shaky as they lost momentum from 123 for two after 13 overs. Just 41 came off the next six as Pedro Collins and Chris Jordan squeezed.

Surrey were without their injured captain Mark Butcher, but the absence of Chris Schofield, the highest wicket-taker and one of the meanest bowlers in the competition last season, has been hurting most. Schofield has been out with a broken thumb for five weeks. They miss Matt Nicholson too.

Surrey were behind Kent's rate, but overtook them after Scott Newman tucked into Simon Cook, smashing him repeatedly over mid-wicket's right side. Strangely Key left Cook on after he had gone for 24 off two over. Newman took 15 off the tenth over, from Cook, and Surrey were 90 for two of ten overs, two ahead of where Kent had been.

But Surrey lost their way even more badly than Kent and from 96 for two in the 11th over they slipped to 114 for five by the end of the 14th. Newman spooned a drive off Darren Stevens to long-off for 48 off 31 balls. Bizarrely Cook was brought back from the Vauxhall End and Abdul Razzaq, Surrey's ICL Twenty20 signing, smashed him to long off, where fellow Pakistan all-rounder Yasir Arafat took the catch one yard from the rope.

Surrey needed 51 runs off the last four overs, but never threatened to get them.

Kent
J L Denly c Brown b Abdul Razzaq 52
*R W T Key run out 42
M van Jaarsveld c Ramprakash b Spriegel 3
J M Kemp c Brown b Collins 30
D I Stevens not out 31
Azhar Mahmood c Ramprakash b Abdul Razzaq13
G O Jones not out 4
Extras (lb 6) 6
Total (5 wkts, 20 overs) 181

R McLaren, J C Tredwell, Yasir Arafat and S J Cook did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-80, 2-86, 3-127, 4-131, 5-160.

Bowling: Collins 4-0-28-1; Dernbach 3-0-33-0; Jordan 4-0-26-0; Abdul Razzaq 4-0-32-2; Spriegel 3-0-34-1; Afzaal 2-0-22-0.

Surrey
S A Newman c Tredwell b Stevens 48
J G E Benning b McLaren 17
*M R Ramprakash c Kemp b McLaren 18
A D Brown b McLaren 11
U Afzaal c Tredwell b Azhar Mahmood 21
Abdul Razzaq c Yasir Arafat b Cook 7
J N Batty c Cook b Tredwell 16
C J Jordan not out 17
M N W Spriegel not out 11
Extras (lb 2) 2
Total (7 wkts, 20 overs) 168

JW Dernbach and P T Collins did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-35, 2-75, 3-96, 4-100, 5-110, 6-131, 7-142.<WC>

Bowling: Yasir Arafat 4-0-44-0; Azhar Mahmood 4-0-21-1; McLaren 4-0-28-3; Cook 4-0-47-1; Stevens 2-0-14-1; Tredwell 2-0-12-1.

Umpires: G I Burgess and P Willey