Essex 135 for 3 (Pepper 50) beat Kent 130 for 9 by seven wickets

Pepper made a personal best 75 not out against Hampshire Hawks last week and followed that up by punching 50 as the Eagles knocked off 131 with 27 balls unneeded.

A sensational team bowling powerplay had earlier set the platform to stunt Kent, as Daniel Sams, Sam Cook, Ben Allison and Matt Critchley all eventually snared two wickets each.

Essex are in the quarter-final hunt with three wins from six games and boast an unbeaten start at the Cloud County Ground, Chelmsford. Kent are rock-bottom with a solitary victory.

Australian Sams produced a snorter to have Daniel Bell-Drummond caught at first slip in the first over, before T20 debutant Tawanda Muyeye holed Allison out to deep midwicket and Jordan Cox tickled to a juggling short fine leg two balls later. Cook completed the ruthless start when Grant Stewart miss-hit to point.

Alex Blake attempted to readdress the momentum by striking back-to-back sixes, as Aron Nijjar went for 21 in his sole over. But despite partnerships of 29 with Sam Billings - who was brilliantly caught and bowled by Simon Harmer - and 27 with Jack Leaning, setting a total was laborious.

Leg spinner Critchley bowled Leaning and had George Linde slicing to Sams at point. It was one of four catches for Sams which equalled Essex's T20 record - set by Dan Lawrence in this fixture last year.

Freddie Klaassen outdid all three Essex powerplay bowlers to bowl a maiden and then a wicket maiden - having bowled Adam Rossington. But Pepper picked up from his heroics here last week.

A four over extra cover got his eye in before he carted Matt Milnes back over his head with a well-middled six.

Buttleman ended his run of three single-figure scores by opening up the off side with a trio of boundaries. But departed when Blake unleashed his inner Harlem Globetrotter to reach the ball, pop the ball up, roll over and complete a jaw-dropping diving catch.

Pepper added three more maximums off the spinners before he moved to a third format fifty from 28 balls. He fell when he top-edged a sweep to short fine leg, but Critchley and Paul Walter - who struck three massive sixes - ticked off the remaining 46 runs with little problem.