Kent story

[djmaddison8]

Kent vs Derbyshire



Canterbury plays host to Kent's penultimate match of the season against Derbyshire.

Neither side has any hopes left of promotion, but Kent will be desperately trying to acheive their first Championship victory of the season. They have made 3 changes from the side that scraped a draw against Leicestershire. Darren Stevens returns in place of Alex Blake. Its anyone's guess who will be Kent's No. 1 'keeper next season so Paul Cockburn is given a debut and a chance to prove his credentials. Youngster Ben Kemp also returns in place of the extremely disappointing Charlie Shreck. Ashley Shaw is given another chance to show what he can do at this level.

Rob Key won the toss and chose to bat first under cloudy conditions, with the pitch expected to take a lot of turn on the last couple of days.

[djmaddison8]

Palladino Takes 5 But Kemp Hits Back



Kent were bowled out for 213 on day one but Ben Kemp took two early wickets in the evening to give Kent a way back into the match.

The first 10 overs were surprisingly eventful with 55 runs and a wicket coming off them. 12 of those runs were byes as Tom Poynton struggled behind the stumps with the ball swinging after passing the bat on a few occasions. Rob Key was the early wicket, LBW to Tony Palladino, and when Mike Powell was bowled for 6 by Tim Groenewald things slowed down a little.

Disaster struck for Kent after lunch however as they collapsed from 109-2 to 127-5 in the space of 7 overs. First Palladino bowled Brendan Nash for 47 then Jamie Dalrymple edged to slip off the bowling of Jonathan Clare. Palladino also got Fabian Cowdrey as he got frustrated and skied one to Groenewald. Darren Stevens brought up his half century, putting on 41 with debutant Paul Cockburn, but he tried to get too clever to Mark Footitt and played one straight into the hands of gully. When Ashley Shaw was out to Usman Khawaja, Kent were in trouble at 189-7.

Cockburn hit some aggressive shots in a promising innings to give the hosts a batting point, but Palladino returned to clean up the tail and Kent were all out for 213. Kemp made up for his golden duck by taking the early wickets of Wayne Madsen and overseas batsman Khawaja to leave Derbyshire 5-2 but Paul Borrington and Michael Stemman put on an unbeaten 58 to ensure a slight edge on the day.

[djmaddison8]

Clare Frustrates Kent With Bat and Ball



Jonathan Clare hit a quick half century with the bat then removed both Kent openers to leave the hosts struggling on day 2.

Ben Kemp struck early in the morning session to break the overnight partnership, trapping Michael Stemman LBW for 41, before Adam Riley got Wes Durston to edge to slip in his first over. Paul Borrington and Chesney Hughes put on an unbeaten 67 before lunch however, Hughes playing the aggressor as Borrington reached 59 off 167 balls.

The pair frustrated Kent further as they built their partnership to 123 after lunch before Borrington finally became Kemp's 4th wicket for a well made 80. Hughes followed soon after as he edged Riley to Fabian Cowdrey at slip. Mark Davies saw off Tom Poynton with the new ball but Derbyshire weren't crumbling and Clare at No. 7 had reached an unbeaten 50 by tea.

Clare put on 64 with Tim Groenewald and it was that which gave Derbyshire a substantial lead. By the time Davies and Ashley Shaw had cleaned up the tail, they were in front by 144 runs. There was more bad news for Kent as they lost 3 wickets before the close, both openers and nightwatchman Davies heading back for an early bath.

[djmaddison8]

Derbyshire Wrap Up Comfortable Win



Derbyshire beat Kent by 8 wickets after good work from their bowlers set up an easy target.

Jonathan Clare removed Adam Riley early in the morning session but there followed an unbroken partnership of 93 between Mike Powell and Darren Stevens, picking off the bad balls of which there were many as Derbyshire tried to bowl for wickets rather than keeping it tight. At lunch the lead was just 31.

Tony Palladino got rid of both batsmen after the break however, first trapping Powell LBW before Stevens top edged a pull shot and Chesney Hughes took the catch on the boundary. Jamie Dalrymple and Fabian Cowdrey both stuck around but neither could score the runs Kent needed and both fell to Tim Groenewald. That left 'keeper Paul Cockburn to build a lead with the tail. He did his job admirably before tea, as he reached 42 off 70 balls but after Ashley Shaw departed his side were 9 down with a lead of just 58.

Cockburn was dismissed just short of a half century for the second time in the match when he became Clare's 4th wicket and Derbyshire were chasing 63 to win. They reached the target in 18.3 overs and despite the wickets of both openers it was easy, Usman Khawaja guiding them home with an unbeaten 22.

[KGKOOLKAT777]

Derbyshire beat Kent by 8 wickets after good work from their bowlers set up an easy target.

Jonathan Clare removed Adam Riley early in the morning session but there followed an unbroken partnership of 93 between Mike Powell and Darren Stevens, picking off the bad balls of which there were many as Derbyshire tried to bowl for wickets rather than keeping it tight. At lunch the lead was just 31.

Tony Palladino got rid of both batsmen after the break however, first trapping Powell LBW before Stevens top edged a pull shot and Chesney Hughes took the catch on the boundary. Jamie Dalrymple and Fabian Cowdrey both stuck around but neither could score the runs Kent needed and both fell to Tim Groenewald. That left 'keeper Paul Cockburn to build a lead with the tail. He did his job admirably before tea, as he reached 42 off 70 balls but after Ashley Shaw departed his side were 9 down with a lead of just 58.

Cockburn was dismissed just short of a half century for the second time in the match when he became Clare's 4th wicket and Derbyshire were chasing 63 to win. They reached the target in 18.3 overs and despite the wickets of both openers it was easy, Usman Khawaja guiding them home with an unbeaten 22.

Good story, very detailed. Looking forward to your new batch of players.

[djmaddison8]

Glamorgan vs Kent



Kent travel to Cardiff for their final match of the season, hoping desperately to record a win. Glamorgan are playing for third place, which they can acheive with a victory.

Kent make one change from the side beaten by Derbyshire, Steve Reid makes his return from injury in place of Ashley Shaw. The bowling attack is very young but is led by Mark Davies who makes his 100th First Class appearance today.

Mark Wallace won the toss and put Kent in under cloudy skies.

[GrahamB]

Good story, very detailed. Looking forward to your new batch of players.

He will do better in the second season.

[djmaddison8]

Glamorgan Seamers Make Inroads



Jim Allenby was the star with the ball as Glamorgan took 6 wickets on a rain-hit day in Cardiff.

Kent made a solid start to the match as openers Rob Key and Brendan Nash batted through to lunch, putting on 95 runs. Key reached 50 in the penultimate over of the session. Nash was quieter, but looked more assured as the session went on, hitting commanding shots off the spinner Dean Cosker.

Glamorgan made breakthroughs in the next session, as first Nash was LBW to Graham Wagg, then Mike Powell edged to slip off James Harris and finally Darren Stevens was trapped in front by Allenby. Key held firm at the other end however and he put on 56 with Jamie Dalrymple as he brought up his 3rd century of the season before the rain came down.

Allenby bowled a fiery spell in what was left of the evening session to remove both set batsmen and Wagg removed nightwatchman Mark Davies, who hasn't been very good at that particular job recently, so that much will rest on the young shoulders of Fabian Cowdrey and Paul Cockburn in the morning.

[djmaddison8]

Bragg Hundred Highlights Kent Problem



Will Bragg scored his 5th century of the season as Kent's bowlers could only manage one wicket on day 2.

Fabian Cowdrey and Paul Cockburn put on 62 together to take Kent to 3 batting points before falling in consecutive deliveries, Cockburn to Jim Allenby and Cowdrey to Dean Cosker. Cosker and Simon Jones then got rid of the tail fairly quickly. Gareth Rees and Bragg survived the three overs before lunch.

The afternoon session belonged to Glamorgan's openers as they put on an unbroken 104. Kent used 5 bowlers to try and break through put none of them could. Ben Kemp looked the most dangerous but was frustratingly inconsistent as for every good ball there was one hit to the boundary. Rees brought up 50 just before the break and Kent looked like undoing all their good work with the bat.

Mark Davies gave Kent hope as he beat Rees for pace and knocked middle stump out of the ground. That brought Allenby to the crease and there were a couple of early LBW shouts against him by Davies and Steve Reid but that was as good as it got for Kent as they bowled too many lose balls to let him get in. The two batsmen never looked back as they put on an unbeaten 120.

[djmaddison8]

Kent 2 Down as Glamorgan Still Lead



Glamorgan continued their assault on Kent's bowlers and took 2 wickets but may struggle to win the match after further rain delays.

Even the new ball was not enough to stop Will Bragg and Jim Allenby in a rain-curtailed morning session as they moved their partnership to an unbeaten 215. Allenby brought up his 4th century of the season and looks destined for the man of the match award as he nearly caught up with Bragg's score. Kent had no answer.

Glamorgan put their feet on the gas after lunch as they passed Kent's score. It cost them a few wickets however, Bragg was bowled by Darren Stevens before Marcus North fell to Adam Riley for just 2. David Dial came out flashing his blade and made 24 off 25 balls before Mark Davies trapped him in front. Allenby watched most of this from the other end but he serenely made his way to 130 as the score reached 406-4 by tea.

As Glamorgan kept pushing, they lost Mark Wallace to Steve Reid and Allenby finally fell to Riley before they declared on 445-6, a lead of 126. Brendan Nash and Mike Powell both fell to the new ball pairing of Graham Wagg and James Harris but Rob Key and Darren Stevens put on 46 to give Kent a chance of saving the game tomorrow.

[djmaddison8]

He will do better in the second season.

Cheers guys. The only way is up!

[djmaddison8]

Wagg Leads Glamorgan to Victory



Glamorgan wrapped up an easy victory but it wasn't enough for 3rd place. Kent's season ended in suitably miserable fashion.

Rob Key and Darren Stevens started brightly in the morning but Graham Wagg ripped out the heart of the Kent batting lineup to put his side on the road to victory. Stevens, Jamie Dalrymple and Fabian Cowdrey all edged him to slip in the space of two overs to leave Kent 86-5 and it soon got worse as Paul Cockburn fell to James Harris. Key stuck around but when he went so did Kent's chance of setting Derbyshire any kind of chase. At lunch they were effectively 19-8.

The tail didn't last long after lunch, Wagg taking the final wicket of Ben Kemp as he finished with figures of 5-47. Glamorgan saw off the 29 required runs in 6.3 overs, although there was just time for Steve Reid to claim his 4th first class wicket.

[djmaddison8]

First Class Season Review



There are many ways to describe Kent's Championship performance this season but none of them are good. With not a single victory out of 16 matches, they are fully deserving of the wooden spoon. Although there were a couple of matches they dominated and drew there were many more where they only hung on to draws by the skin of their teeth. When the batting performed the bowling let them down and on the rare occasions when the bowlers took wickets, the batting duly collapsed.




No one averaged over 40 for Kent with the bat, with the skipper leading the way in the averages again despite a desperately poor start. Only three batsmen made it over 1000 runs and after Darren Stevens on 985 the next best was Brendan Nash who was away for half the season. The performance of Paul Cockburn in the final two matches was encouraging, but players such as Daniel Bell-Drummond, Fabian Cowdrey and Sam Northeast didn't do much with their opportunities. Alex Blake is a bright prospect, although he lost form towards the end of the season. Matt Coles and James Tredwell provided useful lower order runs but unfortunately they weren't as good at what they were in the team for! Geraint Jones was disappointing, as was Ben Harmison, although their limited overs performances may save them from losing their contracts.



The bowling figures are equally depressing, as no one averaged under 30. Mark Davies continued to play when woefully out of form and perhaps would have benefited from a couple of games in the second team had there been anyone to replace him. Tredwell started the season well but began to lose confidence in the T20 portion of the season and never really found his way back as Adam Riley took over and took just 6 less wickets in 4 fewer matches. Riley looks a bright prospect, as do Steve Reid and, to a lesser extent, Ben Kemp. Justin Kemp was economical in his short spell but failed to take wickets. Simon Cook, Coles, Ashley Shaw and Charlie Shreck were all massively disappointing as was Stevens' bowling. Jamie Dalrymple contributed well when needed.

[cricfan1]

Insane 16 Match not a single win

[djmaddison8]

End of Season Awards



Player of the season: Jamie Dalrymple

First Class batsman: Jamie Dalrymple
First Class batting performance: Jamie Dalrymple 161 vs Gloucestershire

First Class bowler: Mark Davies
First Class bowling performance: Mark Davies 6-33 vs Essex

One Day batsman: Rob Key
One Day batting performance: Brendan Nash 135 vs Yorkshire

One Day bowler: Mark Davies
One Day bowling performance: Mark Davies 4-33 vs Sussex

Twenty20 batsmen: Rob Key
Twenty20 batting performance: Rob Key 80* vs Sussex

Twenty20 bowler: Azhar Mahmood
Twenty20 bowling performance: Ben Harmison 4-22 vs Sussex