Smith and Loudon relish fresh start

Ed Smith may have a reputation as a very correct batsman but he has adapted his game well for the more exotic demands of Twenty20 cricket, and yesterday he hurried to 85 off 59 balls against Kent at Beckenham.

In the previous two games, the former England batsman managed 38 and 33. Yesterday he heightened the woes of his former county, who have yet to win in the competition this year. After putting on 62 for the first wicket with the county's other in-form batsman, Owais Shah, who hit 31 off 20 balls, Smith shepherded the visitors to 189 for 8, hitting eight fours and three sixes

In reply, Andrew Hall made 36 off 24 and Michael Carberry was unbeaten on 48 off 33 but Kent ran out of steam on 169 for 5 to lose by 20 runs. Middlesex join Surrey at the top of the South Division.

Alex Loudon, who departed Kent under the same cloud as his close friend Smith, spun his new county Warwickshire to their first victory of the campaign in the Midlands/ West/Wales Division

At Swansea, Warwickshire posted 205 for 7 against Glamorgan, Neil Carter opening up with 38 off 23 balls while Jim Troughton made 42 off 28 and Jonathan Trott 38 off 28. Dougie Brown and Nick Knight also weighed in.

The home side's chase was bolstered by a cosmopolitan second-wicket stand of 78 by the Australian Matthew Elliott, with 51 off 32 balls including three sixes and three fours, and India's Sourav Ganguly, who made 36 off 35 balls. Both fell to the off spin of Loudon, however, and in-form Michael Powell went first ball.

Loudon went on to capture 5 for 33 as the Welsh county swiftly subsided to 151 all out in 18.2 overs, losing by 54 runs.