Lancashire enjoy strong start against Kent at Canterbury
Lancashire were 38 for one, trailing Kent by 206, after day one of their Vitality County Championship showdown at Canterbury.
Josh Bohannon and Luke Wells were unbeaten on 22 and 14 respectively at stumps, after Beyers Swanepoel had bowled Keaton Jennings for a duck.
Earlier George Balderson and Nathan Lyon took three wickets apiece for second-from-bottom Lancashire, as they bowled out the division’s basement side for 244.
Tawanda Muyeye was Kent’s highest scorer with 59, while Ben Compton made 55.
The scoring rate soon slowed however. Will Williams found Marcus O’Riordan’s edge in the fourth over and although George Bell dropped him, he’d moved on to just 16 when Balderson had him caught at third slip by George Lavelle.
Bailey switched to the Nackington Road end and got Daniel Bell-Drummond for four but Joey Evison joined Compton and batted through to lunch, at which stage it was 102 for two.
Evison went for 25, edging Bailey to Matty Hurst, before Balderson claimed two wickets in the space of 10 balls. Harry Finch drove him to Josh Bohannon at mid-off for one and Compton fell to an ankle-high catch by Keaton Jennings at second slip.
That left Kent on 124 for five and it nearly got worse for the hosts as Muyeye was on 23 when he pulled Nathan Lyon to the mid-wicket boundary, only to be dropped by Jack Blatherwick.
Having dropped into the middle order after struggling as an opener, Muyeye responded with his first half-century of the season.
Debutant Charlie Stobo joined him and made an inventive 36 before he was bowled by Nathan Lyon, ending a stand of 82 and leaving Kent on 210 for six at tea.
Swanepoel made 19 before he top-edged Lyon behind and Matt Parkinson went for a nine-ball duck against his former county, lbw to Luke Wells.
Lyon then bowled George Garrett middle-stump for three and although Muyeye was dropped again, this time off Lyon by a sliding Williams, he was lbw to Wells in the next over, denying Kent a single batting point and leaving Lancs to face 14 overs before stumps.
Swanepoel sent Keaton Jennings’ off stump flying for an eight-ball duck but he was the only victim, with Wells just surviving a dicey penultimate over from Stobo.
Report by ECB Reporters Network
Images by Luke Adams/Daniel Adams
