Twenty20 Cup, Beckenham: Middlesex 189-8 (20 overs) beat Kent 160-5 (18.5 overs) by 30 runs
Ed Smith starred with the bat against his former employers Kent to set Middlesex on course for a 20-run win.
Smith, who could not get in the Spitfires' Twenty20 side last year, hit 85, with eight fours and three sixes, as the Crusaders posted 189-8.
Simon Cook, who moved in the opposite direction last winter took 2-23.
Michael Carberry kept fighting to the end, with 48 not out from 33 balls, but India's Irfan Pathan (1-26) bowled a tight final over to complete the win.