Charlie Allison continued his sensational form with a personal best 74 to fire Essex to a fourth straight victory in the Vitality Blast men’s competition and win the Battle of the Bridge.

Batter Allison battered his third half-century on the bounce, with Jordan Cox firing out 40 on his first Essex appearance of the summer – after IPL and England Lions duties.

Charlie Bennett’s early wickets meant that Kent Spitfires never truly settled in their chase of 188 despite Sam Billings’ 62, and some late hitting to make the scores closer.

The Eagles sit clear in second in the South Group, with Kent four points behind, heading into the Blast’s two-and-a-half-week hiatus.

Having been stuck in, a tepid start for Essex was compounded by losing openers Michael Pepper and Paul Walter in the powerplay, and could have been in deep trouble if the returning Cox had been given out as well.

The former Kent keeper-batter had been unused by Royal Challengers Bengaluru and therefore a pair of England Lions over the last four days were his only competitive matches since February.

He quickly got into his work with a carved drive through point second ball before back-to-back forceful pulls proved he was not rusty.

Fred Klaassen thought he had run him out with his finger-tip at the non-striker’s end. Replays were inconclusive and TV umpire Rob White had no option but to give it not out – much to Spitfires Billings’ chagrin.

Cox had been on 17 when he survived that close shave, but he rebuilt with Allison in a 58-run partnership.

But after Cox, for 40, and Luc Benkenstein fell in successive overs, but 21-year-old Allison took over with sixes galore. He smashed six maximums on his way to backing up 67 not out, and 61 in his last two innings.

Wiaan Mulder looked like he was chewing with just three runs coming off his first four ball, before exploding with boundaries, as he thumped 26 off his next six deliveries before he was caught – giving Matt Milnes his third in exemplary figures of three for 23.

Their 49-run partnership boosted Essex towards a par score of 187.

The Spitfires had a similar powerplay to the hosts, as Charlie Bennett dismissed both openers, as they were held behind the rate.

Zak Crawley and Billings threatened to take the game away with a quick-fire 37 stand but Zum Akhtar and Matt Critchley struck in back-to-back overs to put Essex in control.

Billings picked up his 41st T20 half-century but he and Chris Benjamin – the latter to a brilliant boundary juggle catch – fell within three balls of each other.

Things fizzled out for the visitors as Keith Dudgeon was the victim of a Harmer direct hit, before Akhtar – who picked up three for 19 – had Grant Stewart and Milnes caught in the same over.

Jake Lintott and Klaassen threatened to make things nervy with a 34-run partnership for the last wicket but Essex won by three runs.

Essex batter Charlie Allison: “After losing the first two, to bounce back like this with four wins and be in a solid second is a good effort from the boys. Hopefully after the two County Championship matches we can keep the momentum going.

“I am keeping it as simple as I can, play strong shots and back my red ball technique and then hope the rest follows.”When you have Cox at the other end – and unfortunately he didn’t kick on – you know anything is possible. And then Mulder came in and took the game on. They were so helpful for me.

“I am a big advocate for red ball cricket but I wouldn’t say no to white ball. For me right now, my head is on the Championship.”

Kent Spitfires captain Sam Billings: “Scoring a fifty doesn’t mean much when you don’t get over the line. As a team, to lose nine wickets in a T20, you know you haven’t batted as well as you could have done. 

“I thought Charlie Allison was struggling for a lot of the knock but he didn’t give it away and on a small ground like this he cashed in at the end. It was really mature. He probably showed a few senior batters on both sides how to play.

“I think the death over period lost it for us. We went for something like 85 in the last six. From an execution point of view, their guys bowled really well at the end. “It was a lot further away than the scoreline suggests.”