Warwickshire Bears' hopes of putting further pressure on the Division One leaders in the Norwich Union League were extinguished under the Canterbury floodlights, as Kent Spitfires won a rain-affected game by 13 runs to lift themselves away from the relegation zone.

Set a revised target of 144 off 22 overs after a heavy storm extended the break between innings, the Bears were over-eager to leather the ball around the park, rather than rely on a regular flow of singles to keep the scoreboard ticking, and they lost key wickets steadily.

Neil Carter, promoted to open, hit boundaries in each of the two opening overs before missing a straight ball from Martin Saggers. Dougie Brown, also moved up the order in search of quick runs, was run out, sent back by Nick Knight, who had lost sight of the ball following an attempted pull.

Paul Nixon, who had a fine evening behind the stumps, then made the first of four key dismissals as Ian Bell tried to drive Matthew Fleming. Knight, who had already survived two referrals, departed in similar fashion. Although the arrival of Jim Troughton prompted a brief escalation in the run rate, Troughton was caught behind off Andrew Symonds after briefly threatening to take control of the match. When Trevor Penney went the same way, trying to run Fleming down to third man, the Bears were 89 for seven.

Neil Smith and Keith Piper then showed the virtues of accumulation, to bring Warwickshire a little hope too late. Smith was yorked by James Golding with 21 still needed, and after Nick Warren was caught at long-on there was too much for Piper to do. He was last out, lbw to a Symonds yorker for 17.

The Spitfires' innings included a flurry of wickets at the start and finish. They lost skipper Matthew Fleming in the first over, caught by Carter as he top-edged a pull, but that did nothing to curb Kent's aggression while the fielding restrictions were in place. Rob Key found the rope twice before he was lbw, also to Warren, who took his third wicket when James Hockley was caught behind for 21 (16 balls), trying to add to a tally of five boundaries.

Matthew Walker entered to exercise due caution, and with Symonds put together much the most substantial partnership of the innings. The latter was characteristically hard to pin down – Brown and Alan Richardson were deposited over the ropes at mid-wicket and long-on respectively. There was a touch of the curate's egg about the Bears' fielding – excellent at times (Penney and Troughton stood out), pedestrian at others.

Symonds went for 46, losing his off stump playing back to Richardson, but Walker accelerated after a stodgy start. After being missed on 46 – a stinging return catch to Smith - he caused hilarity next ball by accidentally throwing his bat several yards away without making contact. Four more followed to complete a 96-ball 50, and a massive six in the same over off Smith.

On Walker's departure, lbw to Brown for 75, the Kent innings faded. Without Mark Ealham, who was left out for disciplinary reasons, they went from 193 for four to 217 for nine. Geraint Jones got a bottom edge to Piper, Nixon and Masters both perished having a swing, and Golding, lifting his foot late, was beautifully stumped by Piper. Like Nixon, Piper shone behind the stumps, but at the end of the evening it was the home keeper who was smiling.

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