FOR the second time in a month, Kent’s bowling was torn apart by James Benning, of Surrey, for whom international one-day recognition cannot be far away.

The gifted 23-year-old, who made 88 off 54 balls against Kent at the Brit Oval in a Twenty20 Cup match last month, hammered 71 off 51 balls to turn Surrey’s pursuit into little more than a cakewalk. If Benning’s brilliant cameo thrilled a full house of 3,250, a most emphatic victory was really earned by the bowlers.

To restrict Kent to 229 on a tight, fast-scoring ground such as Woodbridge Road was a notable effort, even if the pitch was more bouncy and quicker than the “road” used for the championship match against Somerset.

Azhar Mahmood and Tim Murtagh each bowled very tightly with the new ball, swinging it away and restricting Kent to a meagre 57 from the first 15 overs.

A tidy spell followed from Anil Kumble, who had Geraint Jones caught at long-off for a neat 41 from 42 balls. Darren Stevens, with a polished 81 from 92 balls, and Rob Key, with 33 off 26, played well, but the rest of the batting was disappointing.

Benning, given too much width by Amjad Khan, hit eight of his 15 fours in the Dane’s first three overs, which disappeared for 39. With 123 on the board after 15 overs, Surrey coasted home, a six by Azhar scoring a direct hit on the Sky TV commentary box.