SPITFIRES fielded their least experienced team in many a year, but travelled home from The Oval with a deserved five-wicket win over the toothless Surrey Lions.

Though shorn of their mercurial spinner Saqlain Mushtaq, the hosts still fielded six internationals yet they proved no match for a Kent team including Alex Loudon, Simon Cusden, and Niall O’Brien with barely a dozen appearances between them.

Set to chase 231 from 45 overs, the visitors edged home with seven balls to spare. The early indications had been poor for Spitfires as they lost their two most senior players Rob Key and Andrew Symonds within the space of five overs and for a combined aggregate score of five.

Key skied a catch to mid-on to see Nayan Doshi claim a good running catch over his shoulder, then Symonds, as is his occasional wont, shouldered arms to a straight one from Martin Bicknell to go leg before for a second-ball duck.

In only his sixth league appearance Alex Loudon took over the Symonds’ mantle of stroke-maker, cracking 10 fours and a huge six over long-on in an over from England all-rounder Rikki Clarke that cost 24 runs.

The Old Etonian helped add 73 in 12 overs in tandem with former Surrey left-hander Michael Carberry before his free-flowing innings came to an abrupt end.

After reaching his maiden league 50 from just 40-balls Loudon allowed the ovation to get the better of him and an expansive drive to Tim Murtagh’s very next ball went through the gate to trim off stump.

Carberry’s half-century, only his second in the league for Spitfires, was more sedate, coming from 61 balls and with eight fours, but he too got out soon after celebrating, leg before to Adam Hollioake when trying to work a straight one to leg.

With both inexperienced players gone, skipper David Fulton (48), fit again after a hand injury, teamed up with his old flat-mate Matthew Walker (51 not out) to show all their guile and experience.

With 53 wanted from the last 10 overs, they worked the ball into gaps with little or no risk, and led Kent to the brink of their third win of the campaign and the 20th victory in 35 league meetings against the Lions.

Earlier, Kent’s makeshift bowling attack performed minor miracles to restrict the Lions to 230 for eight.

Without the likes of Martin Saggers, Mohammad Sami, Alamgir Sheriyar and Min Patel, Kent’s patched-up squad bowled disciplined line and length on the whole to put pressure on the hosts.

Nadeem Shahid top-scored with 61 from 55 balls, but other than that only Mark Ramprakash (32) batted with any fluency before becoming the first of James Tredwell’s two victims in a nine-over stint of two for 35.

Symonds, who played despite a slight Achilles tendon strain, finished with two for 26 courtesy of two sharp catches by Niall O’Brien stood up to the stumps to account for Jon Batty and Azhar Mahmood.

Ben Trott and Matt Dennington started the rout with the wickets of power-players Scott Newman (7) and Ali Brown respectively (21).

Newman played on while pulling and Brown top-edged a skier to O’Brien.

Rookie seamer Simon Cusden suffered a dreadful first over of five wides, but recovered to send back England’s Rikki Clark (20) with a yorker that uprooted leg-stump.

A late rally by Martin Bicknell (22) and Shahid, who added a Surrey eighth-wicket league record of 75, took the gloss of Spitfires’ performance in the field, but Kent’s in-form batsmen found the target well within their range.