Kent story

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Housego Hundred Puts Gloucs on Level Terms



Gloucestershire hit back at Kent in a big way on day 3, avoiding the follow on and probably saving the match.

Dan Housego and Ian Cockbain batted through the entire first session, and had put on 141 together by lunch. The partnership was not without its chances, but none went to hand until the first over of the new ball. Ben Kemp took it and Housego edged it straight to second slip but Adam Riley put down the easiest chance he is ever likely to get.

Kemp did get the breakthrough after lunch, removing Cockbain LBW, and Richard Coughtrie went cheaply to Mark Davies but Housego reached a fantastic century soon after. He eventually fell to Riley but David Payne and Ian Saxelby frustrated Kent by batting through to tea.

Kent did eventually get through the tail but Saxelby finished on an unbeaten half century to ensure Gloucestershire ended their innings just 18 runs behind.

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Key Hundred Not Enough to Force Win



Kent's match with Gloucestershire petered out into a draw after Rob Key's second century of the season had made victory a possibility for Kent.

Key and Brendan Nash batted through the entire morning session as they looked to set a target for the home side to chase, scoring runs off every bowler as they put on 146 together, both passing 50 before the interval.

Despite losing a couple of quick wickets after lunch, Nash to David Payne and Jamie Dalrymple to Ian Saxelby, Kent put their foot down as they pushed towards a declaration. Alex Blake came in and hit a succession of boundaries in his 37* before Key reached a good century and declared shortly after, setting Gloucestershire 250 to win in just over a session and a half. Hamish Marshall and Chris Dent went for it before tea, hitting 40 off the first 10 overs, but Adam Riley trapped Dent in his crease on the stroke of the break.

With around 200 runs still required, Gloucs went defensive and despite Ben Kemp taking the wicket of Will Gidman no further breakthroughs were forthcoming and the sides agreed on a draw. Both teams remain 8th and 9th respectively.

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Kent Youngster Reid out for 2 Weeks

Young Kent fast-medium bowler Steve Reid is expected to be out for up to two weeks after being hit by a bouncer in the Championship match against Gloucestershire.

The 22-year-old, who has a fractured bowling arm, had just started breaking into the first team having made his debuts in the First Class and List A formats in the last couple of weeks.

In his 2 matches in each format thus far he has taken 2 wickets at 34 in the Championship and 1 wicket at 68 in the Challenge Trophy, although with a decent economy rate of just over 5.

Reid's opportunity came about due to a lack of form from some of Kent's more experienced bowlers and it is likely one of them will now get a chance to make amends before the end of the season.

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Northamptonshire vs Kent



2nd-placed Northants host bottom of the table Kent as they look to secure an automatic semi-final spot.

Kent make 3 changes from the side that was narrowly defeated by Warwickshire. Jamie Dalrymple, Mark Davies and Ashley Shaw, making his first appearance of the season, come in for the rested Alex Blake, the injured Steve Reid and Adam Riley.

The Northants side has just 5 bowling options but they have needed no more all season as all have performed well. Skipper Andrew Hall won the toss and put Kent in to bat.

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Northants Cling On for Victory



Kent lost by two wickets for the second time in consecutive Challenge Trophy matches as James Middlebrook held on to hit the winning runs.

Sam Billings failed again for Kent as he was caught behind off David Willey for just 4. Rob Key and Mike Powell put on 55 together but the runs came slowly after an early burst from Key which included a six off Willey. The bowler had his revenge as it was he who caught Key off Andrew Hall. Brendan Nash got off the mark with a maximum off Jack Brooks but he scored only 9 runs off his other 44 balls as Kent's innings almost ground to a halt. Powell reached a half century but Nash was finally caught off Brooks, Powell was run out and Darren Stevens failed to leave Kent 124-5 in the 33rd over. An important partnership of 29 between Jamie Dalrymple and Azhar Mahmood followed but Kent continued to lose wickets and reached just 172-8.

Their bowlers started well however, with just 4 runs coming off the first 2 overs and their accuracy paid off when Stephen Peters was out LBW to Mark Davies. Kyle Coetzer and David Sales began to hit boundaries and put on 53 together, including 13 off Ben Kemp's first over, but the momentum shifted slightly with the introduction of Ashley Shaw. In his first over of the season Shaw trapped Coetzer LBW and Kemp got David Murphy caught and bowled in the next. Kemp's next over was a maiden and the pressure built further on Northants when Sales edged to Dalrymple off Shaw. Ben Harmison, in good form with the ball of late, also kept it tight and picked up the wickets of Alex Wakeley and Willey, with the run out of Hall occuring in between. Kent sensed victory but Rob Newton put on 24 with Middlebrook as Northants closed in. Newton was bowled by Dalrymple but Middlebrook managed to get the 19 runs needed with Chaminda Vaas to move his side to the top of the table.

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Kent vs Yorkshire



Kent are an important part of deciding who will reach the semi-finals of the Challenge Trophy this season but only in as much as they are playing against the top sides. This time its Yorkshire who need to beat them to go top.

Kent make two changes from the side that lost to Northants. Geraint Jones returns to replace Sam Billings as wicket-keeper, meaning Brendan Nash opens in an attempt to allow him to build an innings. James Tredwell also makes his return, replacing Azhar Mahmood who is out of form and expected to retire at the end of the season.

Rob Key won the toss and elected to bat first.

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Kent Beat Yorkshire in Thriller



West Indian Brendan Nash hit his maiden One Day hundred to give Kent their first win in any format since the T20 cup matches.

Nash and Rob Key began slowly, with no indication of what was to come as Key batted out three early maidens. The scoring rate began to rise when Adil Rashid came on as both batsmen hit him for an early six but the partnership was only worth 82 even though they batted to the 22nd over before Mitchell Starc got one through Key's defences. He was soon followed back to the pavilion by Mike Powell and Darren Stevens and despite Nash bringing up 50 the score was just 136-3 with 12 overs remaining. Enter Jamie Dalrymple. The batsmen put on 117 together in exactly 60 balls, including 28 runs off one Rich Pyrah over. By the time Nash departed for 135 off 113 balls, including 17 fours and 4 sixes, Kent were well on top at 253-4. It wasn't over yet however as a further 19 runs were added including 2 boundaries from the only balls Ashley Shaw faced. Dalrymple's 52 came from 36 balls, 5 fours, 3 sixes.

Yorkshire's batting has been immense this season however, and with an inexperienced bowling line up Kent never looked safe. 46 runs came off the first 6 overs but then disaster struck for Yorkshire as Dalrymple's direct hit ran out a well-set Phil Jaques. Gary Ballance was slow to get going in the circumstances and at one point the required run rate was up over 8 an over. Ballance knew he had to hit out or get out and unfortunately for him it was the latter as he skied a Shaw delivery into the hands of Stevens. That brought Joe Root and Jonny Bairstow together and they managed a 50 partnership in just 7 overs to put the visitors back on track. Root reached 74 off 60 balls before hitting one straight back to a grateful James Tredwell. If that partnership had alerted Kent the next one really scared them. Bairstow and Andrew Gale put on 81 over 10 overs that included 4 boundaries off a Ben Kemp over and Kent looked in trouble. Then Key turned to Stevens. The veteran all rounder's medium pace has proven ineffective for most of this season but with sudden cloud cover at Canterbury it proved to be a master stroke. Stevens removed Bairstow, Anthony McGrath and Rashid in his 4-over spell, effectively ending Yorkshire's challenge, especially when Shaw got rid of Gale. In the end, 9 runs were needed off the last over with Starc and Ryan Sidebottom at the crease. Mark Davies cleaned up the latter and conceded just 1 run to see Kent home.

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Sussex vs Kent



5th plays 6th in a dead rubber on the last day of the Challenge Trophy group stage, as Kent travel across the border to Sussex.

With 6th place guaranteed whatever happens, Kent rest Mike Powell for Alex Blake and also replace Ben Harmison with Mitchell Duckett, giving him a chance to show what he can do on debut.

Sussex's weakness has been their top order batting this season and it will be tested early on as Rob Key won the toss and elected to field.

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Davies Takes 4 in Kent Victory



Mark Davies took 4-33 in his 8 overs to ensure Kent ended their Challenge Trophy campaign in positive fashion.

Davies got his first in Sussex's 5th over, with just 8 runs on the board, when Ed Joyce edged behind to Geraint Jones. A partnership of 52 followed between Mal Loye and Murray Goodwin, but it took them 72 balls despite a strong start when they each hit a six. Darren Stevens especially bowled economically and it was he that got the breakthrough, trapping Loye on his crease for 32. Joe Gatting followed soon after, LBW to James Tredwell, but Goodwin reached his half century and threatened to take the game away in partnership with Michael Yardy. They put on 77 together, hitting both spinners out of the attack, before Davies returned for a spell in which he removed both set batsmen and Luke Wright taking 3-15 in his final 3 overs. Ashley Shaw also chipped in with the wickets of Ben Brown and Amjad Khan to ensure Sussex did not reach 200.

Brendan Nash's season has drastically improved since being asked to open by the Kent selectors and after today he now averages 70.17 in his last 6 innings across both formats. His new found reliability has also helped Rob Key at the other end, and the two put on 136 today, effectively winning the match. Neither batsman is known for quick scoring however and with Key's 63 coming off 98 balls and Nash's 78 coming off 98 there was still some work to do to achieve the target within the remaining overs. Jamie Dalrymple has also been in form however and with 40 runs still needed from 37 balls when he came in, he hit 35 of them from his 21 balls to record Kent's 4th win of the season.

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One Day Season Review



A disappointing Challenge Trophy comes to an end for Kent, as they finish 6th out of 7 in their group. Gloucestershire were the only county side to finish with less then Kent's 8 points, although they did seemingly hit upon a winning formula in the last two matches, recording wins against Sussex and Yorkshire.



The skipper led the way for Kent as a batsman, scoring nearly 200 runs more than anyone else and scoring one of only two centuries. Brendan Nash, the other 100-maker, found a second life when asked to open with Rob Key, scoring 280 of his runs in his last 4 innings including that magnificent 135. Of the other batsmen Darren Stevens and Mike Powell were the most consistent, although Powell's strike rate left more for the lower order to do than they would like. The lower order's job was to score fast runs and Jamie Dalrymple, Alex Blake and Ben Harmison all did that, although they would have liked to have recorded a few more not outs. Both wicket-keepers were disappointing with the bat, as was Azhar Mahmood who was frequently promoted up the order to score quickly, a tactic that failed more often than not. Daniel Bell-Drummond's 94 runs suggest he could have a future but they came at a very slow rate.



Mark Davies was by far Kent's best bowler, as the joint leading wicket-taker and with an economy rate of just 4.33. The other bowler with 13 wickets was James Tredwell, who was slightly disappoining in a season in which he would have been looking to cement his place as England's number 2 spinner in ODIs behind Graeme Swann. Darren Stevens was excellent on his day, but otherwise didn't bowl many overs, but Ben Harmison's bowling was a big surprise and his 4-44 was his best figures in One Day cricket. Ashley Shaw, Ben Kemp and Steve Reid all looked bright prospects and Shaw expecially was a big part of Kent's last two wins. Adam Riley and Matt Coles failed to impress however. Jamie Dalrymple was useful as a backup spinner, although he failed to make any match-changing contributions, but Azhar Mahmood failed to justify his 'limited overs specialist' tag as despite having the second best economy rate his wickets came at over 30 runs each.

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Leicestershire vs Kent



Kent travel to Leicester with both sides playing for pride, although the visitors will probably want the win more as they haven't had one in this format all season.

Kent make 3 changes to the side that dominated Gloucestershire for 3 days out of 4, but Fabian Cowdrey keeps his place ahead of Darren Stevens. Geraint Jones, Ashley Shaw and Charlie Shreck replace Sam Billings, Ben Kemp and the injured Steve Reid. Shreck plays his 100th First Class match having played his 99th four months ago at the start of the season.

Leicestershire pick a bat-heavy lineup with just four bowling options. Matthew Hoggard won the toss and his side will bat first.

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Leicestershire Smash 400 to Put Kent on Back Foot



Ned Eckersley hit his highest First Class score as Leicestershire hit over 400 runs on the opening day of their match against Kent.

Jacques du Toit and Will Jefferson began the chaos as they hit 26 runs from Charlie Shreck's opening 5-over burst. Mark Davies was a little more on the money at the other end however, and he trapped Jefferson LBW. That brought in Eckersley, who put on 158 with du Toit either side of lunch.

Kent's bowlers were unable to control the run rate, Shreck and Ashley Shaw, playing his first Championship game of the season, taking particular punishment. It was Jamie Dalrymple who finally got the breakthrough, enticing du Toit to edge behind in his first over. Leicestershire looked supreme at tea however, on 247-2.

Another century partnership between Eckersley and Greg Smith occured after tea, Smith's 70 coming off just 110 balls. Eckersley was finally out to Adam Riley as he skied one to Davies and Smith became one of two Shreck wickets with the new ball, the other William Jones for 19. Michael Thornely was also out before the close, caught and bowled by Shaw, but Leicestershire had already reached 5 batting points and Kent will do well to get their first win of the season from here.

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White's Day Keeps Leicestershire on Top



All-rounder Wayne White scored 50 to get Leicestershire over 500 runs then took two top order Kent wickets to make sure his side remained on top.

Kent would have hoped to wrap Leicestershire's innings up quickly in the morning session but it wasn't to be as Matthew Boyce and White put on 85 for the 7th wicket to frustrate them. White brought up a half century off just 56 balls before Jamie Dalrymple removed both batsmen and Adam Riley cleaned up the tail. Things got worse for Kent before lunch however as Will Jefferson took a stunning catch diving to his left at second slip to remove Rob Key off White.

Brendan Nash and Mike Powell fought back after the break, patiently playing themselves in under cloudy skies before reaping the rewards when the sun came out. They put on 89 together before Powell fell on the stroke of tea when Claude Henderson got one to turn past his outside edge to clip off stump.

Nash passed 50 for the 6th time in 7 innings and looked in imperious form after tea, putting on a further 82 with Dalrymple. Nash finished the day unbeaten on 82, but Dalrymple became White's second wicket and Matthew Hoggard bowled nightwatchman Mark Davies off the final ball to ensure Kent still have a lot of work to do to get into this match.

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Powell, Dalrymple Lead Kent Fightback



Mike Powell and Jamie Dalrymple each hit unbeaten half-centuries as Kent followed on against Leicestershire.

The morning session belonged to Leicestershire as they bowled out Kent for 243 from their overnight 190-4, meaning they had lost 8 wickets for 59 runs over the last two sessions. Alex Blake fell first ball as he edged a Robbie Joseph delivery to slip. Brendan Nash went in much the same way two overs later. The rest of the order fell in much the same way when the new ball was taken, Leicestershire's bowlers sharing the wickets around but Matthew Hoggard was the pick of them. To make matters worse, Rob Key again fell before lunch to an edge behind off Wayne White.

When Nash got out for the second time of the day, many thought Kent's chances of saving the match had gone with him but Powell and Dalrymple put on a counter-attacking 79 before tea, Dalrymple especially looking to get after the bowlers as Leicestershire had done in their innings. The deficit was still 155 at tea however.

The two continued to bat together for the entire final session, but it was slow going as Leicestershire looked to starve them of runs in a change of tactic. The partnership grew to an unbeaten 152 however and both batsmen have centuries waiting for them on what is now a fairly placid pitch.

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Kent Draw With Leicestershire After Powell Century



Mike Powell's hundred ensured Kent drew against Leicestershire, despite a late wobble.

Jamie Dalrymple fell early on, caught behind to become Wayne White's 3rd victim, but Fabian Cowdrey, promoted above Alex Blake due to his more defensive tendencies, and Mike Powell saw off the second new ball and Powell reached his first hundred of the season off the last ball of the session. It had taken him 315 balls of attritional cricket but the delight on his face was plain.

Powell fell to Robbie Joseph soon after lunch but Cowdrey and Blake batted through most of the session, although scored just 38 runs together. They were severely tested under cloud cover and Cowdrey eventually fell just 5 short of a half century, LBW to Claude Henderson. When Geraint Jones fell for a duck just before tea, Kent were 6 down with a lead of just 57 runs and a tricky final session to negotiate.

Alex Blake was left to bat with the tail and he did his job well until he was LBW to Matthew Hoggard. White completed a 5-wicket haul as Kent were bowled out and Leicestershire needed 89 to win in just over half an hour. They were disuaded from going for it however when Mark Davies removed Will Jefferson first ball and when Brendan Nash removed Jaques du Toit the match was over.