My Kent Story

[DjF]

After reading so many stories over recent years I have decided I would like to try one myself, for this I am going to attempt a story with Kent.

Kent are a team who have tasted victory in all 3 competitions, in the county championship they were last victorious in 1978, since then they have spent long time in division 1 until in 2008 they were relegated to the second division where they have stayed ever since. They have won various one day trophies, the most recent being in 2001. Finally there is the t20 competition which Kent took to really well when it was introduced and they were rewarded with the cup in 2007.

Since then Kent haven't been a major threat in any competition so this is where I will try and turn it around.

My aims for the first season are as follows, I would firstly like us to finish in the top 4 in the county championship for this I will be relying on some of the more experienced players like Rob Key, Darren Stevens, James Tredwell and Doug Bollinger to lead by example and help the younger less experienced players. In the one day cup and t20 blast a quarter final would be pleasing and I believe we can achieve this.

We shall not be adding any players in the transfer window and are first game is at home against Loughborough UCCE.

[DjF]

So we play our first game against Loughborough UCCE at Canterbury.

The squad for this game are as follows,

1) Rob Key
2) Sam Northeast
3) Brendan Nash
4) Darren Stevens
5) Sam Billings
6) Ben Harmison
7) Geraint Jones
8) James Tredwell
9) Mitchell Claydon
10) Mark Davies
11) Doug Bollinger

We lost the toss and bowled first

We started well and Mark Davies took 2 quick wickets leaving them 13-2, they batted cautiously for the next 15 overs or so as we kept the run rate at around 2 before Tredwell struck leaving them 45-3, they then carefully batted to lunch without the loss of another wicket finishing 79-3.
Tredwell struck with the second ball after lunch to leave the visitors 80-4, after this they gingerly went past the 100 mark but then we struck with two more quick wickets, Tredwell taking the first and then Davies taking his 3rd of the innings leaving them 115-6, a couple of overs later Harmison struck leaving them 129-7 and then a fantastic over from Davies saw him take 3 wickets in 4 balls, this left the visitors all out for just 136.

Sam Northeast started off quickly as we blasted past 50 in the first 7 overs before he was caught on the boundary for a brisk 38. Nash joined Key at the crease but then Key was bowled soon after leaving us 76-2. A 60 run partnership between Stevens and Nash put us back on track before Stevens was out for 32 and then Billings was out first ball leaving us 136-4. A rebuild from Nash and Harmison left us 179-4 at the end of day 1 with Nash on 61 and Harmison 10.
The following morning both batsmen started where they left of as Nash passed 100 and Harmison cruised past 50, they continued to go on and reach a mammoth 200 run partnership when Harmison was out for 73, the score now 337-5. Geraint Jones came to the crease where he and Nash smashed 100 runs off in around 15 overs before we declared on 449-5 at tea on day 2, Nash 212* and Jones 51*. This left us with a lead of 313 runs.

After tea we set about dismissing the opposition we got the best start possible, a wicket maiden from Davies. Bollinger and Davies picked up a couple more wickets before close of play as they finished the day 61-3. We started again on the morning session on day 3 with them still a long way behind knowing we needed 7 wickets but some courageous batting saw them to 140-3 at lunch. With two sessions left and weather good I was still confident of a win but I knew we needed to break this partnership and sure enough 2 overs after lunch we got the breakthrough, 146-4. From there on we continued to pick up steady wickets through the afternoon as they reached 219-7 at tea. The last session and they still trailed by around 90 runs and all we needed was 3 wickets, it only took 7 overs after tea to pick up the 3 wickets and we win by an innings and 66 runs.


There was some good performances in that game, especially from Nash with the bat and Davies with the ball. I was pleased with the way the squad played and am confident going forward to our first game of the county championship against Worcestershire.

[DjF]

Here we go as we kick off are county championship campaign against Worcestershire. We have an unchanged team from the one that beat Loughborough and we have lost the toss on what looks to be a good batting pitch at New Road. Key players to watch for Worcestershire are Moeen Ali and Daryl Mitchell.



A good start from Worcestershire sees them past 50 but then Tredwell claims the wicket of Matt Pardoe, 69-1, they go onto reach 107-1 at lunch.
Another good session for Worcestershire as they only lose Moeen Ali for 39, the score now 219-2, Mitchell 102*
Finally we win a session, 4 wickets go down, the first being Mitchell for 128, 3 out of the 4 wickets go to Claydon, Worcestershire finish the day on 350-6.
Claydon picks up the wicket of Kohler-Cadmore in his first over of the day, 350-7, a strong 80 run partnership from Andrew and Leach sees them to 430 but then Leach is dismissed and two quick wickets follow leaving them all out for 443, 4 wickets for Claydon and 3 for both Bollinger and Tredwell.

A poor start for us sees Rob Key caught in the slips for just 9, the score 19-1, Nash comes to the crease on the back of a double century. Northeast hangs around a little longer but also departs early for 19.
Stevens comes to the creases and is dismissed next over, 40-3. Billings comes to the crease and will be looking to improve on his first ball duck in the last game.
We make it to tea on day 2 107-3 still 336 behind. Nash departs quickly after tea for 34, the score is now 109-4. Billings follows quickly just short of a 50, 119-5. Harmison departs 2 overs before close of play for 28, we are still 280 behind Worcestershire. We close on 168-6.
We bat carefully for the first hour on day 3 but the inevitable happens and we lose Jones for 45, 210-7. We lose the next 3 wickets for 29 runs and finish 239 all out, still 205 behind.

Unsurprisingly we have been asked to follow on and we make a dreadful start, Rob Key goes for a duck in the first over. A recovery of sorts from Nash and Northeast, Nash departs for 55, 108-2. We still trail by 96 runs. We reach tea on day 3 for 114-2. Northeast goes first over after tea for 42, 115-3. Another handy partnership is broken and Stevens is out, 182-4, only 22 runs behind now.
We reach the end of play without losing another wicket, 248-4 and we are leading for the first time in this match, a lead currently of 44!

An important knock from Billings comes to an end in the first 15 minutes of the day, he departs for 60 256-5.
We reach lunch with the lose of 1 more wicket, Jones 29. The score at lunch 323-6.

Useful knocks from Tredwell (29) and Claydon (31) accompanied 94 from Harmison to get us to 401 all out, leading by 197 with 30 minutes remaining in the afternoon session. Can we do the impossible and take 10 wickets, I think not but a draw would be well deserved after our second innings fight back.

Doug Bollinger takes 1 wicket before tea as Worcestershire reach 39-1.
We came out brilliantly after tea and took 3 wickets for 11 runs and one of there players was injured by a fierce bouncer from Bollinger so they were 51-4. Sadly we were unable to keep the momentum going our way as Kohler-Cadmore and Leach held it together for the last 45 minutes as they reached 135-6, a thrilling draw.

[benhubbs]

Good somebody else has an interest in Kent too! They are side which struggle for quality in general though especially in bowling. Make sure you use Riley, he's going to be a top player, he's taken 42 wickets in the first 8 matches in my game incl. 4x 5wicket hauls & a 7-66. Bollinger's been pants though so far!

[dodgyjamie]

100% agree with Riley, bit expensive to start but nothing some coaching won't fix and he's always good for a few wickets! Really struggling with Stevens batting and bowling this year though..

[DjF]

Worcestershire vs Kent
County Championship Division 2
We travel to New Road to face Worcestershire in our first county game of the season, the team is unchanged from the one which beat Loughborough, we lose the toss and will bowl first on what appears to be a batting paradise. Worcestershire have some dangerous players on side including Moeen Ali and Daryl Mitchell.

Worcestershire make a good start to their first innings with opening bowlers Davies and Bollinger not able to make an early breakthrough in their opening spells, thankfully a change to spin sees the back of Matt Pardoe who is bowled by Tredwell for 31, the score 69-1. Moeen Ali joins Mitchell at the crease and the pair bat until lunch 89-1. After lunch the pair begin to attack before Ali departs for 39 after a brilliant ball from Bollinger who completely destroys the stumps. Young batsmen Tom Fell comes to the crease and he and Mitchell both continue to score fluently and reach tea without the loss of another wicket, 223-2.
The first hour after tea both Mitchell and Fell continue before both are dismissed, Mitchell the first who is caught on the boundary of the bowling of Claydon and then Fell who is out in a similar fashion, also to the bowling of Claydon. Worcestershire continue to bat and lose two more wickets before close of play on day 1 and both Oliver and Whiteley depart without really troubling us, 350-6.
The following morning we get a perfect start as Claydon bowls Kohler-Cadmore first ball of the day, unfortunately, an annoying 80 run partnership from Leach and Andrew took them past the 400 mark before Bollinger finally picked up both there wickets, Choundhry and Shantry showed little resistance for the last wicket partnership and Worcestershire were all out for 443.

We come out to bat and make a poor start with loose shots and get lucky with some dropped catches but fairly soon Key is caught off the bowling of Andrew for just 9. Northeast continued to try his luck but was out for just 19 and then Darren Stevens only managed 2 before he was dismissed in the same over, 40-3. Nash and Billings began to fight back and started to build a partnership but unfortunately Billings misjudged one and was out lbw for 42. Nash was out a few balls later for 34 and we found ourselves 119-5, still trailing by 324. Geraint Jones and Ben Harmison set about cautiously building another partnership but then Harmison, who looked so settled and hadn’t played a poor shot all innings, was out for 28. This left us in a desperate position and unsurprisingly we continued to lose frequent wickets and were all out for 238, 205 behind.
As expected we asked to follow on and we got off to the worst start possible with Rob Key going for a first ball duck, thankfully for the first time in the game we managed to create a 100 run partnership between Northeast and Nash but just after passing this milestone, Northeast departed just before his 50. Nash lost his wicket soon after and we were now 115-3. From there on we were lucky as Stevens (29) Billings (60) Harmison (94) Jones (29) Tredwell (29) Claydon (31) all got runs and we soldiered on just past 400 before we were all out for 401.
So there was a session and a half left in the match and 197 runs required, could Worcester do it, we knew we had virtually no chance of winning so the aim was to restrict the run rate to get a draw. Mitchell and Pardoe came out all guns blazing as they raced of the mark losing 1 wicket in the before tea and finishing 39-1. We came out after tea and first ball saw the back of Mitchell who had punished us in that first innings, some brilliant bowling from Davies then left Worcestershire 51-4 as well as injuring one as their batsmen (Ross Whiteley). Unfortunately they were able to bat sensibly and only lost two more wickets before close and the game ended as a draw, Worcestershire 136-6.

We batted poorly in the first innings and the form of Rob Key is a concern, there we certainly be questions asked about his place in the side and Bell Drummond may make his first appearance in the next game.

[DjF]

Kent V Leicestershire

This could be our first win of the season with Leicestershire propping up the bottom of the table, for this clash we make one change, captain Key is dropped so he can find some form with the seconds and Bell-Drummond is brought in, Darren Stevens is now captaining the side.

We lose the toss again and once again bowl first
Bollinger takes the first wicket, Greg Smith is out LBW for 22, 42-1.
Thornely goes soon after also for 22, 50-2. Claydon takes the wickets of Eckersley just before lunch leaving the visitors 74-3.
Two wickets go down in the next session, Thakor for 45 who was bowled Bollinger caught Tredwell and Nial O’Brien who was caught by Jones behind the stumps of the bowling of Davies, 165-5 at tea.
A session of two halves, the first half Sarwan and Redfern both passed 50 and started to build a worrying partnership but then Claydon bowled Sarwan for 66, Naik soon went thanks to Bollinger and then a small partnership between Redfern and Evans before Davies took 3 wickets in 4 balls similar to earlier in the season, they finish 264 all out.
Davies the pick of the bowlers finishing with figures of 39-4 with Bollinger and Claydon both taking 3 wickets each.
We come out to bat on the start of day trailing by 264 runs
The decision to bring Bell Drummond in hasn’t worked as he goes for 1, 1-1. Nash then skies one 3 balls later leaving us 1-2, a terrible start.
Sam Northeast departs for 4, the score now 16-3, we manage a slight recovery before the loss of our next wicket, Billings departs for 33, 79-4 as we still trail by 185 runs.
Harmison and Stevens see us past the follow on target and we reach lunch 121-4, Stevens 56* and Harmison 25*.
An even session where we lost 2 wickets, Harmison the first to go with a plum lbw for 40 and then Jones who was out last over before tea for 20, we are now 201-6 and are 63 runs behind.
A session we defiantly won with the loose of just 1 wicket, Tredwell for 42, Stevens remains in on 130* as we close 287-7, that’s a lead of 23 runs.
We are all out for 358, Stevens hit 158 and was ably assisted by Claydon who hit 26, Shreck took all 3 wickets this morning and got a 5fer, this gives us a lead of 94 runs.
We only manage 1 wicket before Leicestershire turn the 94 run deficit into a lead, Greg Smith the only man to go for 34.
With nearly an hour lost due to bad light Leicestershire didn’t make much of a lead but we didn’t take any more wickets, 140-1 with a lead of 46.
We take 3 wickets in the first session on day 4, the first being a run out second ball of the day that saw the back of Thornley followed by a useful spell of bowling from Claydon and Davies who picked up a wicket each, Leicestershire are now 218-4 and 124 runs ahead, early wickets are key in the first hour of the afternoon session if we want a chance at winning this game. Unfortantly we only picked up one wicket, that of Eckersley but he made 100 first. Leicestershire declare on 314-5 with a lead of 220 runs and two and a half hours to score them.
We hit 31 before tea on the final day for the loose of just 1 wicket, Northeast for 7. We need 190 to win from the final session.
3 quick wickets after tea end the hope of a win as we fall to 48-4.
We recover to 133-5 with just 2 overs left but somehow lost 4 quick wickets to expose the number 11 for 3 balls, thankfully we held on for the draw.

With Adam Riley showing brilliant form for the 2nd XI I expect him to make his first appearance of the season in the next game.

[DjF]

Kent vs Surrey
County Championship Division 2

Surrey join us at Canterbury in our 3rd county championship game, James Tredwell misses out after some poor performances and young Adam Riley comes in for his first game of the season, we lose the toss again and once again, bowl first. Rory Burns has been in good form for the visitors with the bat so his early wicket will be important.

Bollinger strikes early for us as we dismiss Jason Roy for 17, Steve Davies is then out for 21 and Surrey are 53-2 in the first half of the session.
Riley comes on to bowl just before lunch and gets the big wicket of Burns who falls for 32, they go in at lunch 120-3.
After lunch Riley claims another wicket, this time Solanki is gone for 49, Wingfield is the only other wicket to fall before tea, also picked up by Riley who has so far been expensive but has taken big wickets, 263-5 at tea.
A strong evening session for us as we pick up 5 more wickets, Claydon taking two, Davies two and Riley another, 343 all out.

We are left with 3 overs to bat before close of play, Bell-Drummond and Northeast bat cautiously, only scoring 1 run before close of play.
Bell-Drummond falls early on day 2 after missing a straight ball which was plum lbw from Meaker, Northeast is out in a similar fashion in Meaker's next over 17-2.
A disastrous session for us, we kept losing wickets regularly and finished at lunch on 95-8, Nash the highest scorer with 18.

99 runs needed to avoid the follow-on and unsurprisingly we fall short, all out for 119, still 75 away.

As you would imagine we have been asked to follow on, a good partnership from the openers is key to keep us in the game as we are still 224 runs behind, sadly Tremlett bowls Northeast for a duck and gets us off to a poor start.
We bat to tea without losing another wicket, 50-1, Nash 28* and Bell-Drummond 16*
Bell Drummond falls early after tea for 25 and then Stevens comes to the crease, he begins to play his shots and scores a very quick 27 before he is caught and bowled by Meaker, 95-3.
We lose 3 more wickets before the end of play, 150-6 at close, we are in a terrible position and will be lucky to make Surrey bat again, still 74 behind.
Claydon falls in the first over for 4 and puts us 156-7. We try and persevere but we can't hold on and are all out for 208, we lose by an innings and 16 runs.

I was pleased with are bowling performance but disappointed with how we performed with the bat and we deserved to lose, we are struggling to find an opening combination that is able to put a strong partnership on the board.
There may be some team changes for the next game to try and find a combination that works.

[DjF]

Derbyshire vs Kent
Country Championship Division 2

We travel to Derbyshire looking for are first win of the season, Derbyshire are currently sat in 6th and we are in 7th, we have made 3 changes from the team that was beaten by Surrey, Rob Key is back in to open in place of Daniel Bell-Drummond, Fabian Cowdrey makes his first appearance this season in for Sam Billings who will hopefully go away and make some runs for the seconds and finally David Griffiths who has impressed for the seconds comes in for Doug Bollinger who has had a poor season so far. Again, we have lost the toss and are bowling on a pitch suited to the batsmen.

Claydon gets the perfect start for us, Hughes goes for just 3. Unfortunately Godleman and Chanderpaul bat well to see Derbyshire through to lunch without the loss of any more wickets, 92-1.
Claydon gets another breakthrough in his first over after lunch, this time Chanderpaul who goes 12 short of a century, 165-2. We then have a strike of luck as Godleman is forced to retired hurt and Borrington is out for just 1, a real swing in the momentum. Claydon continues taking wickets and ends up with a 5fer, Riley also chips in with a couple of wickets to leave Derbyshire all out for 289. I am pleased with that performance considering they were 165-1 at one point.

We are left with 23 minutes to bat on the final day, with both openers struggling for runs it will be a good chance for them to show what they can do.
Surprisingly we reach close without losing a wicket!! 26-0

An hour into the morning session and both batsmen are still in, Key is scoring fluently and looks like a man with a point to prove as he reaches 35*, Northeast looks to be struggling with 23 from 81 balls, 61-0.
Northeast is out, bowled Turner for 24, Key is still going strong and is approaching his 50, 72-1.
Nash falls quickly, hardly troubling the scorers with only 1 run to his name, soon after, Key reaches 50.
Stevens plays a silly shot and loses his wickets just before lunch, 96-3. 193 runs behind Derbyshire

Cowdrey reaches 50 runs just before tea on day 2, a careful session finishes and we are 180-3, 109 behind.
Key (87) and Cowdrey (60) are both out as they begin to try and increase the run rate. 208-5.
We reach 262-7 at close of play, Harmison holding it together on 40, only 27 runs behind now.
Some good batting from us in the morning session on day 3, especially from Harmison who made it to 87 gets us to 340 all out, this is a lead of 51 runs.
Derbyshire are already at a disadvantage with Godleman injured and not able to bat.

Davies gets a perfect start, Hughes goes for a duck.
Continuous wickets fall for Derbyshire through there innings and they are all out for 297, a lead of 246. Adam Riley picked up his first 5fer this year and Davies took 3 wickets as well.

We now need 246 from just under 3 sessions.
A 50 run partnership for us is broken as Kent is out for 20, 54-1 193 runs behind.
We continue to bat until lunch without the loss of a wicket, 81-1, 166 to win. Northeast 44* Nash 13*
Northeast goes early after lunch for 46, Stevens comes to the creases looking to be positive.
We lose a steady stream of wickets during the afternoon, Nash the first man to go for 23, Cowdrey the next for 7 and then Stevens who scored a fast 44. 162-5, 85 left to win.
Disaster as Geraint Jones and Mitchell Claydon both depart in the same over 168-7, the game looks to be a certain lose now.
An outstanding finish!!
After going 194-9 still 52 runs behind we looked doomed but then Ben Harmison played another amazing innings keeping the strike from the number 11 and smashing 65, we leveled scores but then Griffiths fell to leave the match tied.

A well deserved MOTM for Ben Harminson who has been outstanding this year so far.

[Lukesspurs]

Wow must of been fun

[DjF]

We're at it again and this time we welcome Sri Lanka to Canterbury where we take them on in a one day friendly, I sense this as an opportunity to rest some players and bring in some other players to see how they get on in the first team this year. Sam Billings is welcomed back in the team as Northeast is rested, Alex Blake comes in for Brendan Nash and finally Robbie Joseph is in for David Griffiths who bowled poorly last game. Of course, we lost the toss and are bowling first again!

A good start for us, Joseph dismisses young opener Vithanage in his second over, 10-1
We continue to bowl well and after 15 overs we are on top of the Sri Lankan's, 35-4, Joseph taking the wickets of Dilshan and Perera and a run out seeing the back of Mathews.
Sri-Lanka pick up during the rest of the innings but frequent wickets and good bowling ensure they do not post a large score, despite 99 from Priyanjan and they finish 218-8. Joseph the pick of the bowlers finishing with figures of 4-44.
Now the chase, Billings tries to take the attack to the bowlers but chips to the fielder for just 8, 10-1. We get to 71-1 from 15 overs, Cowdrey showing his class on 33 and the experienced Key at the other end on 27.
Cowdrey falls for 41 from 52 balls, 88-2, we still require 119 runs at 4.1/over.
The class of Malinga shows as he smashes one into Key's middle stump and he is gone also for 41.
Man of the moment Ben Harmison walks to the crease to join Darren Stevens and it is important for these to take a real chunk out of the 119 runs still required.
20 overs left to go and unfortunately Ben Harmison is out for 5, 94 required from the final 20.
With some international level bowling the pressure is beginning to show as we struggle to score runs, we keep wickets in hand for the next 10 overs allowing us to take off during the final 10 overs where we need 62. 157-4.
A solid 5 overs for us sees us score 27, 35 needed from the last 5 overs, Stevens on 47 and Blake on 37.
Things looked as if they were going are way as we got to the stage of needing 13 from 12 balls, sadly in 49th over was an outstanding one for Senanayake who took 3 wickets and only conceded one run, 12 from 6.
First ball off the final over and Blake goes for a cheeky single, the second ball Davies hit hard through the covers for 4, 7 from 4 required. 2 dot balls and then Davies plays all round the next and is bowled, 7 required from the last ball and all Joseph can do is hit it for a single, Sri Lanka win by 5 runs.

I was really impressed with how we played and we must not forget we were up against a side filled with international talent, we bowled beautiful and did so well to restrict them to 218, we didn't score the runs but there were good scores for Stevens, Blake, Key and Cowdrey which show promise for us.

[DjF]

We travel to Gloucestershire to face them in a county championship clash, we have made some changes to the team, Northeast comes back in the team for Billings, Blake sadly loses his place to Nash despite a good performance against Sri Lanka and Joseph keep his place in the team after some excellent bowling, you can probably guess what happened at the toss. The pitch looks like a batting paradise so restricting them will be very important.

Gloucestershire get away well and reach 65 before they lose there first wicket, Claydon picks up Klinger. They carry on and don't lose anymore before lunch 102-1.
Riley claims the wicket of Dent just after lunch, Dent goes for 53 117-2. Once again Gloucestershire see the session through with only the lose of won wicket which puts them in a very dangerous position at tea, 224-2. A better session for us sees us take 3 wickets, Claydon, Riley and Davies getting one each, the opposition close day 1 366-5.
A good start to the day sees us take 3 wickets quickly however Will Gidman and James Fuller create a partnership and see them past 500 and eventually we get them all out for 509 just after lunch.

Sadly we suffer another poor start and can Rob Key can only manage to see the team to 16-1, we pass the 100 mark without losing another wicket, Nash leading the way with 47.
We get to 138 before Nash is stupidly run out for 56, we manage to get to the end of the day 170-2, Northeast 76* and Cowdrey 20*.
Cowdrey is the first man to go on day 3 and falls for 41, 195-3 and still trailing by 314 soon after we find Northeast is unable to go on to a century and falls for 82, 211-4, we get to lunch 250-4.
By tea we are 9 down and still 15 runs off the follow on, Stevens still not out for 75, Joseph hit a useful 25 at number 10 to make sure we have a chance of getting past the follow on total
First over after tea we pass the follow on and soon after we are all out for 365, 144 behind.
Gloucestershire bat well in there second innings and only lose 2 wicket before they declare during the morning session on day 4 (158-2) with a lead of 302
Carefully batting the end of the morning session we reach 22-1, Rob Key the only man to go.
A nice session sees us lose no wicket before tea, we only score 68 so we still trail by 208, Nash 47 and Northeast 30.
Nash comes out after tea swinging and flies into the 60's, Northeast gets to 43 before he is dismissed, Nash continues and passed the 100 mark before he is out for 105, Cowdrey was the only other wicket to fall for 3, we conclude the game 195-4 and the match is drawn.

Another draw, sadly we didn't bowl well all game, struggling to take 10 wickets in the first innings and only getting 2 in the second. We showed good promise with the bat, especially Northeast and Nash. On to the t20 season!

[DjF]

We travel to Taunton to face a strong Somerset team, Somerset have played 2 and won 2 this campaign and it will be a tough game to kick our campaign off with, we once again make some changes, Nash is out and Billings comes in, Bollinger comes back in for Joseph, we finally win the toss in a game this season but this time I want to bowl first.

Somerset struggle to get going with Davies and Bollinger restricting them to just 32 from the first 6 overs, Bollinger gets the wicket of Petersen but them Kiewetter comes to the crease who instantly ups the run rate and continues to score a quick fire 64 able assisted by knocks from Compton, Hildreth and Myburgh. Somerset go on to 171-5, Davies bowled well but only got one wicket, 1-12 from his 4 overs, Bollinger and Claydon both picked up a couple of wickets each, Riley was expensive and may lose his place to Tredwell in the shorter format.

We bat well, Northeast starts really well hitting a couple of big sixes, Key started slowly but began to up the rate and by the end of the powerplay we are 43-0, 129 still required from 14 overs.
Northeast is the first man to go in the 8th over, Kirby bowls his middle stump and he departs for 26, 50-1.
Rob Key misses a straight one in Kirby's next over and is out lbw for 30, 69-2.
Cowdrey batting well but Stevens will need to be in good form to bring this one back as currently we still need 103 from 10.4 overs, a tough ask.
Stevens gets a 5 ball duck, 70-3.
We never really recovered and the scoreboard pressure forces us to play silly shots, Kirby rips through the remaining batsmen and finishes with figures of 6-21. 121 all out.

It is becoming apparent to me that Kent are a tricky team to manage, this season there is a clear lack of consistency with hardly any players able to carry form from one game to the next.

[DjF]

Today Worcestershire travel to Canterbury to face us in the County Championship Division 2, currently we are 5 games in to are county championship campaign and are without a win, currently 4 draws and a loss.
We will be looking to be more positive and try and turn the draws into wins.

We make 2 changes from the team that was humiliated by Somerset, firstly Adam Ball makes his first appearance of the season who comes in for Doug Bollinger, Brendan Nash returns to the team at the expense of Sam Billings, we have finally won the toss and will bat first.

Are poor form continues as Northeast goes in the second over for a duck, Cowdrey is the next man in but he doesn't stay long as he departs for just 1, Nash comes in just also goes for a duck a couple of balls later, the score now 5-3, Shantry taking all 3.
Shantry continues his good start claiming the wickets of Rob Key and Ben Harmison, 42-5.
Some seriously high quality batting somehow puts us into a decent position as we get to 235 before the next wicket falls, Jones for 99, Stevens currently 112*.
A true captains knock from Stevens gets him past 150 before he is bowled for 154, 326-8.
We continue to score 376, a fantastic effort from where we were 42-5.

Davies strikes early with the first wicket just before lunch on day 2, the visitors go in for lunch 9-1.
Worcestershire bat well and build a partnership as no more wickets fall in the afternoon session, a good evening session is required to have a strong chance in this game.
Claydon strikes twice in the evening session, first removing Mitchell for 53 and then Kervezee for just 1, Tom Fell bats well and passes 100 finishing 117* and Oliver provides good support with a strong 43*, 227-3.
Day 3 begins and Worcestershire continue where they left off with a solid morning session scoring over 130 runs without the loss of a wicket.
Davies finally gets a breakthrough but it is all a little to late, Tom Fell hits a huge 241, 454-4.
Worcestershire continue scoring before they declare 505-4, 129 ahead, Oliver finishes 171*.

We bat 2 overs before tea without losing a wicket and after tea begin the fightback, Northeast tries to fight back to the good bowling that got him in the first innings with a flurry of boundaries but he can only manage 22 off 10 balls before his luck runs out.
We reach the end of day 3, 137-3, a lead of 8, Cowdrey and Nash the other two batsmen to fall, both scoring 19. Key currently leading the fightback on 59 and Stevens only on 12, a positive start to put a quick lead on will be required for any chance of a positive result for us.
We manage to bat for an hour before we lose our first wicket of the day, Darren Stevens who scores a quick 54, Key 104* and now joined by Ben Harmison, a lead of 105.
Key and Harmison both go with the scores on 266, Key scoring 118 and Harmison just 18, a lead of 137.
We are all out for 290 just before lunch giving us a lead of 161 going into the last two sessions

As expected Worcestershire have no problem scoring the required runs with nearly a whole session to spare, Riley managed to pick up 3 wickets but it was a disappointing end to another game.

[stucbury]

Apart from the fact that Davies is not injured your story of inconsistency sounds quite similar to the "real" Kent squad I follow :-) Interesting read.