SPITFIRES landed their fourth win in seven totesport League starts but it was left to the calculators and the complexities of the Duckworth/Lewis method to decide they had triumphed by 10 runs.

Set to chase 234 from 45 overs, Kent had reached an excellent 140 for two after 30 overs when a deluge hit Worsley Bridge Road to leave the ground awash.

A disappointing crowd approaching 3,000 were left to sprint for any cover they could find, including the scorers’ marquee where the Kent and Warwickshire notchers Jack Foley and David Wainwright were working out the result of the game.

After some deliberation of their decidedly soggy paperwork, the pair declared a Kent win with eight wickets and 15 overs in hand.

The Spitfires’ hero had been Ed Smith, who marked his re-call to the side with a season’s best league score of 81 from 100 balls.

The deposed England bat, who had been dropped for Kent’s last two league fixtures, featured in their best opening stand of the campaign worth 89 in 18 overs with Michael Carberry.

Having clipped a huge six over mid-wicket, the left-hander eventually went tamely for 32, edging an Alan Richardson lifter into the gloves of Tony Frost, leaving Smith to go on and win the game.

Playing a series of cultured drives, Smith stroked 11 fours and a huge straight six, again off Richardson, in his best innings of the summer to date.

He eventually blotted his copybook with a run out when, after being sent by Andrew Symonds, he was beaten back to the non-striker’s end by throws from Ian Bell and then Frost.

Symonds had reached 10 and Alex Loudon one when the heaven’s opened, leaving Spitfires’ sodden supporters to celebrate the win the best they could.

Earlier, the Bears had former Dark Blue Mark Wagh to thank for holding their innings together.

The tall and elegant right-hander hit a run-a-ball 83 with eight fours and two sixes to top score to rescue the visitors from the depths of eight for two.

Spitfires had made the best of starts when Mohammad Sami, making his farewell appearance for the season, struck with the first ball of the game.

Pinch-hitter Neil Carter was the man to go, attempting a back-foot force he was well caught at backward point by Matthew Walker.

Martin Saggers got the short straw, bowling into a severe wind he got one to lift on Ian Bell who obligingly turned the ball to Carberry at square-leg.

Wagh then teamed up with Jonathan Trott to resurrect the innings with a fine third wicket strand of 134 in 24 overs.

Kent’s three-man seam attack were all struggling to get much assistance from another good Beckenham pitch allowing Trott and Wagh to work the ball around at will.

But it was the introduction of spin in the form of James Tredwell, Alex Loudon and Andrew Symonds that turned the tide Spitfires’ way.

Tredwell accounted for top-scorer Wagh when he top-edged an attempted sweep to Loudon at long leg.

The same bowler then accounted for Trott (49) to a sharp return catch and then Brad Hogg to another Loudon catch at short fine-leg to give Tredwell excellent figures of three for 35.

Loudon chipped in with the scalps of Dougie Brown and Tony Frost while Symonds’ off-spin accounted for Jim Troughton and Graham Wagg as the ragged Bears lost four wickets for 11 runs in four overs and six for 60 inside 11.

Having appeared on course for 270-plus, they were left to defend 233, a task well beyond their injury ravaged attack.