Match scorecard Kent skipper Rob Key appears inconsolable following the defeat |
Kent batsman Justin Kemp described his side's three-run Twenty20 Cup final defeat by Middlesex as "heartbreaking" after a dramatic game at the Rose Bowl. The South African hit 49 off 38 balls to take the 2007 champions to within touching distance of Middlesex's 187-6. But, needing 16 off the last over, Kemp and Azhar Mahmood could muster only 12, and the former said: "It is really upsetting to get so close. "It was a good fight from us so to come up short is just heartbreaking." Kent will qualify for the lucrative Champions League providing problems over the eligibility of ICL players can be resolved. Middlesex all-rounder and Kemp's compatriot Tyron Henderson proved the hero, yielding just one run off his final two deliveries with Kent needing four to win to see his side home.  | TMS BLOG BBC Sport's Mark Mitchener |
"Hendo kept his nerve and bowled very good deliveries. We worked really hard to get it down and batted all the way, but it just wasn't enough," added Kemp, who made a belligerent 49. Kent skipper Rob Key added: "We let ourselves down a bit in the field, but it's a nightmare trying to set a field for Owais Shah and Tyron Henderson as both can slog anything. "I thought Ed Joyce captained them well in our reply - he kept his calm in the field, and for us to even get close to their total was a fantastic effort. "If we can bat like that when we're chasing lesser totals, we'll chase a lot more of them down than we have done. "Overall, it's clear that Twenty20's getting bigger and bigger - and today won't have done it any harm." | There are not many of our boys too fussed about it. No-one is booking Ferraris or things like that at the minute Rob Key on qualifying for the Champions League |
However, Key said he did not celebrate his side's qualification for the Champions League, which was sealed after they beat Essex in the first semi-final at the Rose Bowl. Lalit Modi, the vice-chairman of the Board of Control for Cricket in India and the man behind the Indian Premier League, has warned that any team with ICL players will not be allowed to take part in the Champions League. "How do I feel about qualifying? I am not too bothered," said Key. "It changes every other day. Not so long ago, no Indian Cricket League players were going to be able to play county cricket. Now they are. "We have two in Azhar Mahmood and Justin Kemp and they say not even the team is going to be allowed to play. "It is just like the wind, it keeps changing all the time. There are not many of our boys too fussed about it. No-one is booking Ferraris or things like that at the minute."
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