Kent Spitfires scored their fourth-highest total in T20 cricket to record a 13-run win over Middlesex at Lord’s in the Vitality Blast on Friday night.

With captain Sam Billings back in the side, having been left out of the County Championship beaten by Surrey at Canterbury earlier in the week, Spitfires posted 228-3 in their 20 overs.

Max Holden hit an unbeaten century in reply but Middlesex fell short of victory on 215-7 and remain rooted to the foot of the table.

Middlesex conceded 24 extras, with neither of their main seamers able to complete a full four overs. Tom Helm was withdrawn for bowling too many deliveries above waist height and Blake Cullen limped off injured.

Having won the toss and chosen to bat, Spitfires made quick progress as opening pair Tawanda Muyeye and Daniel Bell-Drummond shared a partnership of 88 - their fourth in excess of 50 in the last five games.

Bell-Drummond, who called for a change of bat in the third over, immediately confirmed his new selection to be a good one by dispatching his next two deliveries from Cullen for six and four.

Muyeye took longer to get into his stride, slicing Martin Andersson over gully for his first boundary, but he followed that up with a straight drive over the rope as Kent powered along at around 10 an over.

Having been caught at backward point off a Cullen no-ball, Muyeye failed to capitalise and skied to deep midwicket later in the same over for 38 (88-1 in the ninth), but his replacement Joe Denly proceeded to find the gaps with expertise.

Bell-Drummond thumped Luke Hollman to the fence to bring up his half-century, although he missed the chance to convert that into a ton when Cullen slanted one back into him and Helm took a diving catch at point to remove him for 66 in 42 balls and leave Kent 137-2 in the 14th.

George Linde came and went for three so it was left to Denly, who reached his first fifty of the campaign from 28 balls, and Billings - rounding off the innings with an enormous six off Ryan Higgins - to steer the Spitfires to a daunting total. Denly finished unbeaten on 73 from 37 balls, including five sixes, while Billings hit 24 not out in 15 balls.

The target always looked beyond Middlesex’s reach, compounded when they lost openers Joe Cracknell and Stephen Eskinazi inside the first three overs of their reply, both falling to top edges that were comfortably clasped by Billings - leaving them 29-2.

However, Max Holden displayed defiance, thrashing Fred Klaassen (2-34) and Kane Richardson for sixes as the latter’s first over disappeared for 20 and he and Higgins - promoted to three - shared a spirited stand of 77 from 35 balls.

Michael Hogan (2-40) seemed to have scuppered any Middlesex hopes of a successful chase, stooping to grab a return catch and dismiss Higgins for 35 from 22 before Richardson (2-49) returned to pick up two wickets in four balls.

But Holden kept going with a combination of timing and power, slamming Hogan for two sixes and then cutting him over slip for a four that took him to his second Blast hundred from 49 deliveries.

However, the left-hander’s brave effort 121 not out in 59 balls was ultimately in vain as Middlesex, needing 24 from the final over, could only manage 10.

Denly said: “Those two (opening pair Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye) seem to click really nicely together, they’re good friends off the pitch and they’ve been getting us off to some decent starts.

“It was as good a wicket as I’ve played on at Lord’s and it was important for me to come in and continue that momentum the two openers had got us off to.

“It was good to get over the line in another entertaining game, thankfully we were on the right end of it. The way Max Holden played, let’s not forget that - it was a pretty special innings.

“We recognise it hasn’t been a great competition previous to these last two games, but teams have done it before - they’ve got on a roll and finished really strongly. So you never know, if we keep winning and results go our way, we’ve always got a sniff.”