MATCH PREVIEW: Kent v Lancashire
As they head to the South East for their final round clash with Kent, Lancashire are targeting a third-placed finish in Division One.
Kent v Lancashire
LV= Insurance County Championship, Division One
Tuesday September 26 - Friday September 29, 2023, 10.30am
The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury
They sit fifth on 152 points (three wins, a defeat and nine draws), 21 points behind Hampshire (173) in third. Warwickshire are sandwiched in between on 170.
Hampshire are at home to leaders Surrey and Warwickshire host Somerset.
Lancashire drew a sodden clash with Nottinghamshire at Emirates Old Trafford last week, a fixture which saw only 84.1 overs bowled.
Nothing has been decided in Division One. The title is still alive. Surrey need a maximum of five points to be champions, while at the bottom Kent are in the thick of a relegation battle.
Lancashire’s opponents are just one point clear of second-bottom Middlesex.
It is all set up to be a fascinating week. But from Lancashire’s point of view, they need to win well and hope for a couple of favours from elsewhere in order to seal third place.
Opponents:
Kent’s nerves will be shredded heading into this week.
Jack Leaning’s side sit on 99 points after 13 matches, one point clear of second-bottom Middlesex who travel to Trent Bridge to face Nottinghamshire.
Kent have won two matches, lost seven and drawn four.
One of their draws was against Somerset at Taunton last week when they were made to follow-on in reply to a first-innings 404-4 declared.
They will be without England opening batter Zak Crawley, who is on ODI duty captaining his country in their mini series against Ireland.
Opener Ben Compton is their leading run-scorer in this season’s Championship with 640 runs, while Australian overseas seamer Wes Agar is their leading wicket-taker with 21.
That he went home in late June after a six-game overseas spell indicates some of their issues. They just haven’t been able to replace the wickets he took.
Opposing player to watch:
Tawanda Muyeye is a Zimbabwean-born 22-year-old batter with a huge future.
The opener is in the process of qualifying for England, and you suspect that when he does - in 2027 - we will be seeing a lot more of him.
He made his Championship debut in early 2021 and has enjoyed his most productive season this year with 525 runs from eight four-day matches, including a best of 179 in the first innings of a big win over Northamptonshire at Wantage Road in June.
He came to the UK just before his 17th birthday and was granted refugee status. He went to Eastbourne College in Sussex and in 2020 was named as Wisden's Schools cricketer of the year - a highly prestigious award.
One of his heroes is Kevin Pietersen, and he aims to bat in a similar fashion.
"You look at England now, you know it's ok to be different,” he said last month, whilst playing for the Oval Invincibles in the Hundred.
“That’s the biggest lesson I've learned. You're allowed to be you as long as you're able to deal with things when they get tough."
Previous meeting:
Lancashire completed the double over Kent last season. They won at Canterbury in April by 10 wickets before triumphing by 184 runs at Emirates Old Trafford in late July.
They did so having been bowled out for 145 in the first innings and conceding a lead of 125.
New Zealand fast bowler Matt Henry did the damage in the first innings with 5-45, with Luke Wells top-scoring with 35.
In reply, Jack Leaning dug in for a rugged 90 in 270 all out. Tom Bailey impressed with 6-64 to limit the damage.
Lancashire started their second innings just before close on day two, and Josh Bohannon underpinned a fightback with a stunning 134 off 239 balls - the heartbeat of 436-9 declared. Wells also made 98.
Bohannon shared century partnerships for the second and third wickets with Wells and Steven Croft (41), setting Kent a stiff target of 311 during the first half of the morning.
And it was a target they never threatened as Bailey starred again with 5-46, bowling the visitors out for 127.
England Test opener Zak Crawley made nought and four for Kent, while Indian overseas spinner Washington Sundar claimed three second-innings wickets for the Red Rose.
Bailey’s match figures of 11-110 remain a career best to date.
What they said:
Lancashire have one thing on their mind, insists captain Keaton Jennings, ahead of their final round trip to Canterbury.
“The fight and the want is there to win games of cricket,” says the skipper.
“It’s an opportunity to play four really good days and to try and win a fixture.
“It will be fantastic to try and push ourselves up the Championship table.
“Every time you pull on a Red Rose shirt, you want to perform to the best of your ability. It’s one of those as a player that you don’t want to lose games. It niggles at you, it hurts regardless of whether or not you can win the Championship or get relegated.
“You want to make sure win, compete and perform.
“You want to leave the season knowing you’ve played good cricket, and you want a bit of justification for that.
“Hopefully it’s a high-quality game and competitive cricket all the way through.”
How’s Stat!
Lancashire are unbeaten in their last six Championship meetings with Kent at home and away, winning four of those.
Their last defeat in this fixture came during the final week of the 2013 season when Kent chased 418 on the last day to win a thriller by two wickets.
The hosts recovered from 60-3 thanks to a stunning 205 not out from Darren Stevens. Lancashire were captained by Paul Horton that week, and Ashwell Prince scored two hundreds in the match.
The Red Rose were promoted as champions, but that loss prevented them from going the season unbeaten.
Lancashire are also on a current run of 14 away games unbeaten in the Championship (seven wins, seven draws). Their last away defeat was against Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge in September 2021.