Middlesex suffered their first defeat in six matches as they went down by 25 runs against Kent at Beckenham.
Chasing 87 in the allotted eight overs of a rain-shortened match, the Crusaders reached just 61 for seven with David Malan top-scoring with 25 from 19 balls with three boundaries.
With some excellent bowling from the Spitfires, the visitors struggled throughout their innings after losing their first two wickets by the third over.
They then lost the next three in the space of just two runs with off-spinner James Tredwell doing the damage as he claimed three wickets in his first over to reduce Middlesex to 24 for five.
Malan helped to take the total to 57 before he was bowled by Azhar Mahmood in his second over, leaving Shaun Udal not out with 13 from 11 balls and he hit the only six of the innings. Tredwell had taken three for nine in his two superb overs and Mahmood had two for 13.
Earlier Justin Kemp's hard-hitting innings of 28 from just 10 balls boosted the home side's total to 86 for seven after they began poorly, losing Joe Denly's wicket in the first over. His only scoring shot was a six before Billy Godleman took a brilliant running catch at the mid-wicket boundary off Tim Murtagh.
Kent then progressed to 28 before losing wickets on that total. Rob Key (nine) drove Dirk Nannes to cover for his second boundary and then lofted Steven Finn for a catch at long-on while Martin van Jaarsveld's 13 included a six and a four before he skied a catch to cover.
But man of the match Kemp went on with his powerful shots hitting two sixes and three fours and was particularly severe on Murtagh whose second over conceded 22 runs.
Kemp fell to a fine catch, the second taken by Godleman on the boundary off Murtagh in the fifth over. While Darren Stevens was not out with 13 from seven balls Yasir Arafat hit seven not out from three balls. Murali Kartik, Murtagh and Finn had two wickets each.
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