McCullum ends county stint with a bang

Former New Zealand skipper Brendon McCullum has became Middlesex's latest overseas batsman to put Kent to the sword after blazing an unbeaten 87 to help his side to a 40-run victory in a one-sided England domestic Twenty20 encounter.

Following in the footsteps of Adam Gilchrist (2010) and Dan Christian (2014), who plundered T20 tons on Kentish soil in Middlesex colours, McCullum - the Kiwi short-form specialist - hit four fours and five sixes during a 57-ball stay at Canterbury that eased his side to a formidable 6-210.

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In his final innings of the summer for Middlesex before parting for the Caribbean Premier League, McCullum featured in a century opening stand with in-form Dawid Malan (60), the Middlesex captain, to set Spitfires an exacting asking rate of 10.55 an over for victory - a pursuit that proved well beyond Kent's reach.

McCullum might have gone for 34 had Tredwell clung on to a stinging return catch off his own bowling, but the 34-year-old from Dunedin survived to take his side on to 112 by the innings mid-point.

Without seemingly finding his top gear McCullum eased to a 34-ball 50. He later posted his side's 200 with his fifth maximum of the night but ran out of deliveries in his quest to reach three figures.

McCullum, who has retired from international cricket, registered scores of 74, 44, 110 and 87 not out in nine T20 and one-day matches for Middlesex over the English summer.

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Kent's woes continued in the 19th over when umpires Nick Cook and Russell Evans awarded six penalty runs for their slow over rate.

Kent's run chase started disastrously when openers Tom Latham and Joe Denly fell within 14 balls. Black Cap Latham edged the first ball of the reply from Toby Roland-Jones onto his off stump.

Kent could only reach 170-7 in reply.

In other England T20 action, South Africa quick Dale Steyn captured 2-20 in Glamorgan's nine-wicket victory over Surrey, while Hobart Hurricanes allrounder Christian

top-scored with 38 from 24 balls in Nottinghamshire's seven-wicket win over Derbyshire, and England star Ben Stokes made his return from injury n Durham's six-run win over YOrkshire.

Stokes, who was forced off the pitch during the first Test against Sri Lanka in Leeds and subsequently underwent knee surgery, played as a specialist batsman, scoring five.