Kent Story 2011 Onwards

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Skipped season 1, wanted to start the story from when I could start customising the team.

New signings to the team from the two transfer windows (2010 transfer window and 2011 transfer window) are Anthony Johnson (22 yo OBT), Marcus Thornton (21 yo BT), David Sereny (21 yo BT), Alex Moody (22 yo OBT), Ross Taylor (27 yo Int. BT), Corey Collymore (33 yo RFM).

First match was a comprehensive win for Kent, but I kind of forgot to write the story I was preoccupied playing the game... sorry lol

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Kent vs Essex
Game 2
County Championship D1

Today we have Kent hosting an in-form Essex side. Early predictions on the pitch is that it is a very good one for batting, perhaps with a bit of spin later in the game.

With the captains facing eachother down, its the Essex man who comes out on top and elects to bat on a pitch that will only get worse over time.

With Collymore warming up to take the new ball, Jacques Rudolph and Billy Godleman stride confidently to the crease. Oh dear though! By Lunch Essex have been reduced to 4-102 and it looks as though Collymore and Tredwell are in devastating form with two wickets a piece and the track turning a bit.

However, a brilliant partnership of 168 between Mark Pettini and Jim Troughton prove to be the backbone of the innings. This pushed their first innings total up from mid to low 200 to 308 All Out. Competitive.

Kent openers Robert Key and young-gun Alex Moody come out to the crease with only one over to face in the day - nerves are high!

Ryan Ten Doeschate gets ready to bowl the first and last over of the day in Kent's innings. First ball, outside off brings out a false shot from Key, falling short of the fielder; no run. Balls 2,3 and 4 played well defensively by Key. Ryan takes a deep breath and gets ready for his fifth ball of the over, runs in but bowls it way too short and Key sits back and smacks the ball through extra cover; 4 runs. Last ball of the day, wicket ball perhaps? No! Brilliance from Key! Ten Doeschate strays too far down towards middle to leg and Key whips a stunning cover drive for four! 8 from the final over of the day! Dramatic!

At lunch of day 2, Kent are 91-1 and looking to push the total past the 308 posted by Essex today. The only slip up being Alex Moody falling cheaply to the bowling of Ten Doeschate. A day later and Martin van Jaarsveld calls the innings to a close with Kent crafting a sensational total of 519-5. Key used the confidence from the evening of Day 1 to blast his way over the next day and a half to an unbeaten 231, this included 28 fours and one massive six. He was nobly assisted by Martin van Jaarsveld who hit 86 before falling LBW to Doeschate and young David Sereny who hit a smart 133 before being comprehensively bowled by Essex's man of the innings Ten Doeschate. This leaves Kent a massive 211 runs ahead after the first innings with a day and a half of play left and a crumbling pitch.

Well there was really no doubt in the result was there? Kent come away comfortable winners by an innings and 32 runs. Aside from the ever reliable AB De Villiers who hit a sensible 49 from 135 balls; no one else stood up to the strict line and length employed by Kents 4 man bowling attack. All out 179.

No one likes seeing a man getting hurt, as Van Jaarsveld said after the game "It was a fantastic win for the boys, setup by our bowlers on day one and executed by our batsmen over the next day and a half. The only real downside was seeing Adam Wheater getting hurt in the final hour; we don't go out there to hurt people. We go out there to win, we've done that but we'd be happier if no one was hurt".

Well there you have it, game 2 of the year and Kent are 2 from 2. We'll be taking a lot of confidence from this performance into the next game. As the Coach I feel a real sense of achievement to see our young up and coming batters doing so well. I truly believe they will have a strong season, all three of them. Yeah only David Sereny has shown good form yet, but its the start of the year and both Alex Moody and Marcus Thornton have shown glimpses of brilliance throughout their fledgling careers.

Training on our young bowling attack continues. Ashley Shaw (20) and Warren Lee (23) are both looking to really improve their attacking bowling efforts. Wanting to unnerve opposition batsmen! That's what we like to see from our boys! Lastly there is Mcgrath want to be Matt Coles (20) looking to be that consistent line and length man with a bit of zip and movement. Great to see them all with such ambition!

Essex 308 All Out
M Pettini 124 (180)
J Troughton 61 (166)
C Collymore 5-69
J Tredwell 2-91

Kent 519 - 5 Dec.
R Key 231 no (499)
D Sereny 133 (217)
R Ten Doeschate 3-155
M Chambers 1-93

Essex 179 All Out
AB De Villiers 49 (135)
B Godleman 25 (52)
J Tredwell 6-56
A Khan 1-35

MOTM: R Key

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Derbyshire vs Kent
County Championship D1
Game 3

Pre-game news: After an excellent showing for Kent's 2nd team, Joe Denly (128 no) and Sam Northeast (97) come into the side. Making way are Ross Taylor and young Alex Moody after four failures from four innings each. Perhaps some time in the second team will give them the motivation to perform better?

After winning the toss, Martin Van Jaarsveld elected to bat first on a pitch that has something in it for the pace men. Quoted at the toss saying "Well, its a little green on top and a tiny bit of moisture, but look, the sky is clear and I reckon the best batting will be second and third sessions today. If we can battle through a tough first session, we can build a good total."

Robert Key and his new opening partner Joe Denly walk to the somewhat foreign Derbyshire pitch, looking to survive to lunch and beyond. Both men are full of confidence coming off the back of 231 no and 128 no respectively. Mark Footitt takes his place with the new ball and play is about to begin!

At lunch of day one, Kent find themselves 124-2 with both opening batsmen falling after getting themselves in on a pitch doing a little for the bowlers. Robert Key out for 36 bowled by Timothy Groenewald and Joe Denly caught by Park bowled by Mark Footitt for 59. Both sides could consider themselves happy though neither team is on top, Kent will be looking to the partnership between Martin Van Jaarsveld and David Sereny to prosper and Derbyshire will be hoping for more quick wickets, perhaps even three or four before tea to put themselves way on top.

And so, after a full days play Kent find themselves well and truly on top of Derbyshire at 430-4. This comes on the back of a wonderfully crafted 169 no by captain Martin Van Jaarsveld and a session long partnership between aforementioned Van Jaarsveld and David Sereny 74 who lost his wicket in the first over after tea LBW to Jonathan Clare. Other able contributions came from Sam Northeast 67 out LBW to Timothy Groenewald and Marcus Thornton left unbeaten on 16. Kent will be looking to get their innings to around 500 before declaring and bowling on a pitch that is starting to offer more to the bowlers.

Less than 40 minutes into the first session of day 2, Van Jaarsveld calls the innings closed at 503-4. Jaarsveld himself wrapping up a 201 not out performance and Marcus Thornton hitting a quickfire 51 no. Now, its up to the Kent bowlers to prove they can do what the Derbyshire boys couldnt. Get consistant wickets!

Hmm, well that wasn't what the team were expecting. Especially after starting the innings with the quick wicket of Wayne Marsen for a duck. Derbyshire showed determination and spirit to reach 393 before losing their final wicket. Hashim Amla hit a fierce 172 before losing his wicket to the bowling of Tredwell, he was assisted throughout his innings by Sean Ervine 58, Garry Park 49, Mark Winterson 32, Greg Smith 27 and Lee Goddard 35. This leaves Kent 110 runs ahead with 5 sessions left to play, a deteriorating pitch and a possible result in sight. Kent will be looking to use this lead to grab a quick 300 run plus lead before putting the Derbyshire boys back into bat on a bad pitch for most of day 4.

Well it ended up being a bridge to far for the Kent XI. Everything was looking rosey for the away team when they reached 300-5, a lead of over 400, David Sereny 135 no and Marcus Thornton 52 the mainstays of the innings. They reached this with an hour of play left in day 3. By the end of day 3, they had the hosts 2 down - one of them being the key wicket of Hashim Amla. However, Garry Park, the soon to be hero for Derbyshire had come to the wicket. Over the course of the next day Garry Park survived an amazing bowling performance by Amjad Khan 5-94 to reach 104 no to ensure that Derbyshire took a draw from an almost certain loss. They left the field of play at 280-7, a seemingly impossible achievement considering they were 2-28 at the close of play at day 3 and 4-79 early on day 4.

Kent 503 for 4 dec
M Van Jaarsveld 201 no (269)
D Sereny 74 (93)
T Groenewald 2-91
J Clare 1-114

Derbyshire 393 all out
H Amla 172 (314)
S Ervine 58 (99)
J Tredwell 7-103
A Mahmood 2-74

Kent 300 for 5 dec
D Sereny 135 no (115)
M Thornton 52 (59)
T Groenewald 2-77
M Footitt 1-81

Derbyshire
G Park 104 no (320)
G Smith 72 (127)
A Khan 5-94
C Collymore 1-52

MOTM: M Van Jaarveld

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Hampshire vs Kent
Challenge Trophy - Group Match
Game 1

Kent captain Van Jaarsveld won the toss for the second game in a row. Once again choosing to bat first on a perfect pitch. Nothing in it for the bowling team, except for a very light cloud cover.

Only one change from the County Championship game. Young left arm quick Ashley Shaw is in the side taking Sam Northeast's side in the place. This weakens the batting strength of the side, but gives the captain more options for completing the mandatory 40 overs without having to rely on part-timers.

Joe Denly and Robert Key will be looking to take advantage of a brilliant batting track and post a competitive total. Van Jaarsveld was seen chatting to his coach and insisting that a total of 250+ could be on the cards.

Kent made a slow start to their innings and with the consistent loss of wickets throughout their innings made it to a total of 241-9. Robert Key top scoring with 69 and Van Jaarsveld continuing his vein of good form with a well compiled 47. It was always known that this score was only going to be par and it proved to be the case with Hampshire using the home ground advantage to get home with over 15 balls to spare. Jimmy Adams and Dimitri Mascarenhas leading the scores with 51 and 45 no respectively.

When asked what he thought of Kent's first loss of the season and whether this was a sign of things to come, Kent captain Van Jaarsveld said "Well look, we always knew a good score was probably 20 or so runs away from what we got in our first innings. Those 20 runs would have changed the dynamic of the game completely. Now we have two ways to look at it; either we can say that it was a bad performance and go home feeling terrible or we can say 'well, yeah we lost, but only 10-20 runs would have been the difference. If we can keep wickets, we'll get there'. We'll be keeping focused on the latter and we'll come out fighting next game."

Kent 241-9 40 overs
R Key 69 (84)
M Van Jaarsveld 47 (36)
S Jones 3-41
D Balcombe 2-41

Hampshire 243-7 37.2 overs
J Adams 51 (52)
D Mascarenhas 45 no (39)
J Tredwell 2-57
A Khan 1-30

MOTM: J Adams

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More coming soon

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Kent vs Yorkshire
County Championship D1
Game 4

Pitch news: Flat. Very flat, the only thing the bowling team can look forward too is a bit of sideways turn off of the pitch. Spinners will have fun.

Team news: Due to international commitments, Tredwell leaves the team at a time when his spin talents could come in very useful. In his place Robbie Joseph takes his place in the lineup and to give the captain a few more bowling options throughout the match Ashley Shaw keeps his place ahead of the pure batsmen Sam Northeast. Marcus Thornton also takes his place in the team, in for the out of form Ross Taylor.

The away team win the toss and elect to bat on a pitch that will only get worse over time. Yorkshire will be looking to get a good total on the board and bowl out Kent twice; meanwhile Kent will be looking to keep Yorkshire to a mid 200 score before batting hard and fast to reach their score before deciding how to go for the win.

Overall the Kent bowlers bounced back very well from their belting the previous game and always kept the Yorkshire men under pressure. Aside from Joe Sayers and Dominic Telo, 74 and 72 respectively, the side never managed to get on top and were all out for 252 inside one day. Great performance from the boys. Also of note was Ashley Shaw picking up his first wicket, he grabbed Jonathan Bairstow cheaply before ending his effort with the neat figures of 1-48 from 16 overs.

The Kent opening duo needed to survive for an hour before the close of play but unfortunately didn't manage to with Joe Denly falling very cheaply. This left Key and captain Van Jaarsveld to avoid losing another wicket before the end, which they did manage to do. The partnership didn't last long into the next day with both men losing their wickets before lunch on day two. This bought David Sereny and Marcus Thornton to the crease who combined for a match winning 171 run partnership. Thornton departed for 69 and Sereny reached his 3 ton of the year before leaving on 135. Again of note was Robbie Joseph's score of 54 when Harris was taking wickets seemingly with ease. His figures of 7-111 shows he is the only bowler of note in this innings.

With Yorkshire trailing by over 150 runs, they needed a miracle and one was not forthcoming. They didn't even put up a resistance in the end; this was more due to fantastic bowling than terrible batting with both Amjad Khan and Azha Mahmood taking regular wickets to leave the away team utterly desimated 141 all out.

Kent win by an amazing innings and 19 runs against a strong Yorkshire team.

Yorkshire 252 all out
J Sayers 74 (158)
D Telo 72 (100)
A Khan 4-69
A Mahmood 2-37

Kent 412 all out
D Sereny 135 (198)
M Thornton 69 (155)
R Harris 7-111
T Bresnan 1-75

Yorkshire 141 all out
J Bairstow 39 (74)
A Gale 31 (77)
A Khan 4-36
A Mahmood 3-25

MOTM: A Khan

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Kent vs Scotland CC
Challenge Trophy - Group Match
Game 2

Pitch conditions: After a bit of rainfall over the last few days the pitches have become moe bowler friendly in Kent. Overhead conditions will also attribute to good fast bowling conditions.

Team changes: Only one change, after good performances in the 2nd team Anthony Johnson takes Geraint Jones spot in the side and Van Jaarsveld is taking the gloves for the game. After a fantastic bowling performance against yorkshire, there are no changes.

After losing the toss, Van Jaarsveld and Kent have been sent into bat on a pitch that will give a lot to the bowlers.

As predicted, the pitch gave a lot of help to the bowling team, thankfully Kent was able to keep up a fantastic run rate throughout the innings. The consistant loss of wickets inhibited them from getting an even larger total but the 224 all out will be extremely defendable. The standout of the innings was the bowling of Moneeb Iqbal who took a career best 6-38.

After handing the new ball to young gun Ashley Shaw after showing imense improvement with his attacking bowling over recent weeks, Van Jaarsveld was extremely happy to see Shaw take 4 top order wickets in his opening spell. Ending his 8 overs with 4-42. Also of note is Majid Haq's 40 not out from 30 balls, as he gave Scotland CC a glimpse of hope, but he lost too many wickets around him and Kent came out winners by 44 runs.

Great to come back with a comfortable win. Also great to see Ashley Shaw grab a good haul, his first substantial performance.

Jent 224 all out 38 overs
R Key 45 (51)
M Van Jaarsveld 36 (41)
M Iqbal 6-38
M Haq 2-43

Scotland CC 180 all out 28 overs
M Haq 40 no (30)
N McCallum 26 (38)
A Shaw 4-42
A Khan 2-32

MOTM: A Shaw