Kent story

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Kent Hit New Low - 88 All Out



Gloucestershire bowled Kent out for 88 and enforced the follow-on with a lead of 359 runs at the end of the day.

It took Ian Cockbain just 2 balls to score the 7 runs he needed for his 4th First Class century but when he was bowled by Charlie Shreck Kent had 5 overs to take one more wicket for a 3rd bowling point. Not only did they not do that, but they failed to take another wicket in the session as David Wade and Ian Saxelby put on 63 for the 9th wicket.

Adam Riley quickly wrapped up the tail after lunch but what came next had to be seen to be believed. Kent lost 7 wickets before tea in a display of batting ineptitude not seen since the England teams of the 90s. Only Fabian Cowdrey reached double figures as James Fuller, Will Gidman and Wade took 2 wickets each. Kent were 73-7 and 407 runs behind.

Saxelby and Gidman cleaned up after tea as Kent were bowled out for 88. The only comfort for the visitors was that Rob Key and Michael Carberry remained unbeaten at the close, although not without a few close shaves.

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Cowdrey Battles for Lost Cause



20-year-old Fabian Cowdrey batted through most of the day for his highest First Class score but Kent were 9 wickets down at the close of play.

Kent knew they faced 2 days hard graft if they were to win this match and it was made harder when Michael Carberry fell to Ian Saxelby for 13. Rob Key and Ben Harmison worked hard to put on 52 together and Kent surpassed their first innings score with just 1 wicket down, but Key fell to David Wade just before the interval to leave them 94-2.

Harmison fell to Will Gidman shortly after lunch but the promoted Cowdrey and Darren Stevens scored an unbeaten 49 for the 4th wicket, seemingly attempting to bore Gloucestershire into submission. By tea, Kent had scored just 167 runs off 87 overs but they were surviving.

It didn't last after tea however. Cowdrey reached a 3rd half century at First Class level but shortly afterwards Stevens edged behind off Gidman. Jamie Dalrymple and Paul Cockburn have been in diabolical form lately and they both fell cheaply. Cowdrey had no choice but to start playing for runs and he finished the day with 73 from 231 balls but Gloucestershire kept chipping away and barring a miracle will wrap up victory in the morning.

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Gloucestershire Record Huge Win



Gloucestershire beat Kent by an innings and 128 runs as they took the wicket that was required overnight.

Kent managed to add a further 17 runs before Charlie Shreck was inevitable out, LBW to James Fuller. Fabian Cowdrey was left stranded on 79 not out as Kent fall to the bottom of the table again.

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Kent Hit by Double Injury Blow

Kent have been hit by two absentees from training today, Alex Blake due to a stomach bug and Mitchell Duckett with a finger that has been broken for the second time this season.

Although neither player played in the recent humiliation by Gloucestershire, both were in with a chance of being called up for the Championship match with Leicestershire after an awful batting display by most of the incumbents.

Blake has played 6 First Class matches this season but passed 50 only once in his 274 runs at 27.4 and that in a University match. He has faired no better in One Day cricket, scoring 61 runs at 20.33.

Duckett picked up his injury in a second team game and has yet to make his First Class debut but has scored 318 runs at 35.33 so far this season for the seconds.

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Billings Out With Broken Finger

Kent's reserve 'keeper Sam Billings has been ruled out for 3 weeks with a broken finger suffered in training.

With Paul Cockburn expected to be dropped for the forthcoming match with Leicestershire, Billings had faced a straight fight with Geraint Jones for a place in the first team, a fight the veteran ex-England 'keeper now seems certain to win.

Billings has yet to play in the first team this season but has 297 career runs at an average of 33. He has had a fairly average time in the secong team, averaging just 26.54 from 10 matches.

In other Kent news, Mike Hills returns from England duty after a hugely successful debut Test series. He was the leading wicket-taker in the drawn series, taking 12 wickets at 22.58 across the two matches, including his 100th First Class wicket in just his 15th match.

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Leicestershire vs Kent



Leicestershire host Kent in the County Championship as both teams reach the halfway stage in the competition.

Kent make 4 changes from the side that was unceremoniously thrashed by Gloucestershire. Mike Powell, Chris Piesley, Geraint Jones and Mike Hills come in for Darren Stevens, Jamie Dalrymple, Paul Cockburn and Matt Coles.

Leicestershire won the toss and put Kent in under cloudy skies. With the collapses Kent have suffered this season not many seem to think they will last the day.

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Key, White Star on Even Day



Rob Key scored 86 but Wayne White took 5-90 as Kent were bowled out for 308 on day 1.

Michael Carberry was White's first victim in the 3rd over of the match but Key put on 65 with Mike Powell for the 2nd wicket to defy the cloudy conditions. Powell was LBW to White in his second spell but Ben Harmison settled in with a six off Abdur Rehman and Kent had no further trouble before lunch.

Key and Harmison put on another 50 partnership and the skipper brought up his 3rd half century of the campaign before Rehman got his revenge on Harmison. One wicket didn't lead to 2 however as Fabian Cowdrey took his time playing himself in before putting on 45 with his captain. Key approached a hundred but White got him to edge to Shiv Thakor at slip on 86 and Chris Piesley quickly became White's 4th.

The 5-fer was completed after tea when he trapped Geraint Jones LBW but the partnership of the day was between Cowdrey and Mike Hills as they put on 62 for the 7th wicket. Cowdrey was the anchor, reaching 50 off nearly 150 balls, while Hills hit 5 fours and a six in his 36. Both fell to Robbie Joseph in quick succession but Adam Riley's highest First Class score of 34* ensured Kent a 3rd batting point.

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Thakor Frustrates But Kent Still Lead



Shiv Thakor hit a patient 67 to help Leicestershire recover from 146-7.

The morning session was controlled by Kent's Mike Hills. He bowled 7 maidens in a row, including the wicket of Jaques du Toit, before he was finally hit for a boundary in his 8th over, finishing his spell with figures of 9-8-4-1. Charlie Shreck was almost as good from the other end, taking the wicket of Will Jefferson for 2. Ned Eckersley and Michael Thornley put on a very slow 49 before Shreck returned to remove the former on the stroke of lunch.

Thornley continued to bat carefully and brought up 50 as he put on 34 with William Jones and 40 with Matthew Boyce before skying one to Mike Powell off Adam Riley. Jones had already become Shreck's 3rd wicket and when Boyce and Wayne White fell in consecutive overs to Riley and Ben Kemp Leicestershire were in all sorts of trouble.

Cue consecutive 50 partnerships for the 8th and 9th wickets. Many had questioned the wisdom of playing 19-year-old Thakor as a specialist batsman at No. 8 but the home side were glad of him today as he shared stands with Abdur Rehman and Robbie Joseph before finally falling to Riley for 67. Kent have just one more wicket to take tomorrow and will be glad to still have their lead.

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Carberry, Harmison on Form as Kent Build Big Lead



Kent ended the day 309 runs ahead of Leicestershire with six 2nd innings wickets still remaining and will look to declare early tomorrow.

Mike Hills quickly picked up last man Matthew Hoggard in the morning and it was on to the task of building a lead for Kent. Rob Key and Michael Carberry started to show signs that they are really gelling as an opening pair as they put on 78 together. As always seems to be the case with this Kent team, when their skipper gives them a start the rest step up.

As it happened Key fell to Abdur Rehman straight after lunch but Carberry responded by hitting Wayne White for a huge maximum as he reached his 5th half century of the season, but his first for 7 innings. Mike Powell fell cheaply to Robbie Joseph and Carberry again failed to go on to 3 figures but Ben Harmison and Fabian Cowdrey guided the visitors through to tea on 168-3.

The pair put on 49 together before Cowdrey was trapped LBW by Hoggard. The surprise innings of the day was by Chris Piesley however, who smashed his previous high score of 24 by hitting 43, including a six off his very first ball and 5 further boundaries. By the close he and Harmison, who quietly went to 50, had put on an unbeaten 81.

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Harmison 100* But Leicestershire Hold On



Leicestershire comfortable held on for a draw against Kent as they only lost 5 second innings wickets.

Kent couldn't quite advance the scoring rate as much as they would have like in the morning session and it wasn't helped when Chris Piesley departed early, LBW to Robbie Joseph. Ben Harmison got stuck in a rut for a little while but 'keeper Geraint Jones helped out, hitting a busy 31 before becoming Wayne White's 7th victim of the match. Kent declared the moment Harmison reached his 4th First Class hundred but couldn't find a breakthrough before lunch.

The target of 369 was never really on for Leicestershire but Jaques du Toit and Will Jefferson weren't afraid to hit shots as they put on 78 for the first wicket. Kent got excited when Ben Kemp managed to remove them both but there were no further wickets before tea.

Kemp picked up a 3rd after the break as Michael Thonley edged behind to Jones but that brought in William Jones who killed the game off by blocking almost everything. Adam Riley bowled unchanged through most of the innings and had his reward when he got Ned Eckersley and Mike Hills also managed a wicket before a draw was agreed upon.

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Hills Included in England One Day Squad

Mike Hills has been included in the squad for England's 3 One Day International matches against New Zealand after impressing in his first two Test matches.

Hills was the leading wicket-taker in the series, taking 12 wickets mostly with the new ball in hand. He is slightly less proven in the shorter format, having played only 8 domestic matches, but an average of 22.42 and economy rate of 4.45 suggests he can transfer his skills across.

Alex Hales and David Willey are the other uncapped names in the 15-man squad as England look to go one better than the disappointing drawn Test series.

In other Kent news, Alex Blake has recovered from his stomach bug in time for the Challenge Trophy game against Northants, but there is no guarantee he will play following a lean period with the bat.

England Squad: Alastair Cook (captain), Jonathan Trott, Ravi Bopara, Eoin Morgan, James Taylor, Alex Hales, Craig Kieswetter (wicket-keeper), Samit Patel, Tim Bresnan, Chris Woakes, Stuart Broad, David Willey, Mike Hills, Graeme Swann, James Anderson

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Kent vs Northamptonshire



Kent welcome Northamptonshire to a cloudy Canterbury having won 2 out of 3 Challenge Trophy matches so far.

The one they lost however was the reverse of this fixture and Northants have been extremely hard to beat in this format recently. Kent make 3 changes from the side that beat Warwickshire, Rob Key, Ben Harmison and Adam Riley all come back in place of Alex Blake, Jamie Dalrymple and Matt Coles.

Kent won the toss and will field first.

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Sales Blast Just Too Much for Kent



Veteran David Sales hit a run a ball unbeaten 84 to give Northants their 4th win in 5 Challenge Trophy matches.

Kent's new ball bowling has been outstanding this season and again they only conceded 12 runs from the first 8-over powerplay, which also included Charlie Shreck bowling Rob Newton. Kyle Coetzer managed a couple of boundaries off Mark Davies but Ben Kemp removed David Murphy in his first over. Northants kick-started their innings from then on though, as Sales put on a quickfire 38 with Coetzer before the latter fell to Adam Riley. Sales was perfectly constructing his innings as he put on a further 42 with Alex Wakely, but when Shreck removed Wakely Northants were still only 101-4 with just 11 overs remaining. Then came the game changing partnership. Sales and Johan Botha put on 84 in just 57 balls, hitting Davies for 3 maximums between them, to set Kent a target of exactly 200.

They started fairly comfortably as Rob Key and Michael Carberry put on 67 for the first wicket, keeping up with the required run rate by hitting boundaries a-plenty before both men edged behind in consecutive James Middlebrook overs. Mike Powell and Darren Stevens both took a while to get going and Stevens never really did as he fell to Jack Brooks for 5 off 22 balls. Powell and Ben Harmison looked like they would bring the match comfortably home as they put on 64, Powell reaching a 30th career half century. But both men fell to Lee Daggett and Peter Trego and when Botha removed Paul Cockburn and Chris Piesley the game was all but over. One felt for Charlie Shreck as he came in needing 6 off the last ball just to tie the match after his brilliant bowling display. He swung and hit but only managed a single.

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Kent vs Northamptonshire



Northants stay in town for a County Championship game against Kent.

Kent make one change from the side that drew with Leicestershire, young seamer Steve Reid makes his first appearance of the season in place of Mike Hills, who is on international duty.

Rob Key won the toss and had no hesitation batting first.

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Daggett Hits Back After Landmark Key Century



Kent captain Rob Key hit his 50th First Class hundred but Kent lost 6 wickets for 73 runs to end on 286-7.

Things moved slowly in the first session as Rob Key and Michael Carberry scored just 68 runs from 34 overs. The important thing for them was that they both survived but it was not much of a spectacle as only 4 boundaries were hit and all by Carberry. Northants used 6 different bowlers but none found a breakthrough.

The scoring rate rose dramatically in the afternoon session as Kent added 129 runs for the loss of just Carberry, who was bowled by Jack Brooks shortly after reaching 50. Key finally got going in partnership with Mike Powell and approached 3 figures as the two put on an unbeaten 87 before tea.

Key reached the 100, his second of the season, right after the break but both men fell soon after, Key to Lee Daggett and Powell to Brooks. Fabian Cowdrey hit some attractive shots but tried to be too clever and edged to Johan Botha off Daggett. Chris Piesley fell in the same way and Geraint Jones perished to Kyle Coetzer's part time seam before Daggett took a 4th wicket to leave Ben Harmison with only the tail for company.