MATCH PREVIEW: Kent v Lancashire, Vitality County Championship
Lancashire return to red ball action at Canterbury on Sunday.
Kent v Lancashire
Vitality County Championship, Division One
Sunday 23 June - Wednesday 26 June, 2024, 11am
The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury
A change of pace from the Vitality Blast, and hopefully a change of fortunes.
Well, we say change in fortunes. If Lancashire can replicate their Blast form in County Championship cricket, a positive end to the season is on the horizon.
Lancashire haven’t hidden away from the fact the first half of the Championship season, with only one win in the opening seven matches, has been disappointing and frustrating.
But they have given themselves real momentum via an encouraging start to the Vitality Blast, winning five of the opening eight fixtures to sit top of the North Group.
Can that form translate into red ball action? There’s no reason why not. As you will hear from Keaton Jennings in a moment, he is certainly of that belief.
A look at the table tells you this eighth round clash is a key one. There’s certainly no easing back into a different format.
Kent are bottom of Division One on 61 points, while the Red Rose are second-bottom with 64. Both counties have the same won one, lost three, drawn three record.
Kent’s only victory so far came against Lancashire, by seven wickets, at Emirates Old Trafford at the start of May.
Opposition
Kent have been dealt a blow with a shoulder injury to Australian seamer Wes Agar, who had signed until the end of July but has had to return home early.
Yet, they still have two seam bowling overseas players available; Agar’s fellow Aussie Charlie Stobo and South African Beyers Swanepoel.
Western Australia quick Stobo is yet to make his Championship debut for the Canterbury side, while Swanepoel has taken three wickets in two appearances so far this term, added to a handful of Blast outings with the Spitfires.
Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond is their leading run-scorer so far in this season’s Division One with 638 in seven outings, including two hundreds. He scored an unbeaten 79 in the second innings against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford to see his side to victory.
They are coached by Matt Walker.
Meanwhile, upon announcing Agar’s departure for this season earlier this week, Kent also revealed they have re-signed the seamer to play all competitions next summer.
Opposing player to watch
Zimbabwe-born seamer Nathan Gilchrist claimed eight wickets in the return fixture at Emirates Old Trafford at the start of May, including a first-innings six-for.
Gilchrist signed for Kent ahead of the 2020 summer from Somerset, where he played three years of second-team cricket having come through the Academy at Taunton.
He has made his first-team debuts in all formats of the game for Kent and also played for the England Lions on tour in Sri Lanka in January 2023.
Gilchrist is a tall bowler with good pace, and his 6-24 in the first innings at Emirates Old Trafford last month represented a career best return in first-class cricket.
Previous meeting
In early May, Kent won a Championship match at Emirates Old Trafford for the first time since 1997 - this one by seven wickets chasing a final day target of 164.
Having been inserted, Kent made a battling 261 all out on day two, with weather an early factor. Their recovery from 83-5 and 129-6 was underpinned by all-rounder Joey Evison’s patient middle order 71 not out.
George Balderson, Nathan Lyon and Will Williams all struck three times for Lancashire.
But day two, in truth, was a disastrous one for the Red Rose, who were bowled out for 92 in reply as tall seamer Nathan Gilchrist starred with an excellent 6-24.
Come the end of the day, Lancashire, having been asked to follow-on, were 119-4 and still in arrears.
However, middle order half-centuries from George Bell with 65 and Matty Hurst 58 led a series of valuable contributions - Balderson with 48, Tom Hartley 35 - to ensure a spirited fightback to 332 all out, setting Kent a target of 164 during the latter stages of the third day.
Unfortunately, an unbeaten 79 from captain Daniel Bell-Drummond - batting at number three - avoided any dramas for the visitors, who had fallen to 5-1 in the second over when Balderson trapped England Test opener Zak Crawley lbw.
What they said
Keaton Jennings has been reflecting on Lancashire’s encouraging start to the Vitality Blast competition, which has yielded five wins from eight games and a place at the top of the North Group.
And the skipper is hoping that it’s form which can also have a positive impact on their red ball campaign, which resumes in the South East this weekend.
“The guys have been superb,” said the Red Rose captain.
“The biggest thing for me is that never say die feel. The guys have scrapped when they’ve needed to scrap and blown sides away when they’ve got the opportunity.
“We’ve played really, really good cricket and haven’t taken anything for granted. We’ve worked hard all the way through. Maybe a bit of feeling from the start of the red ball season sits in where guys haven’t been happy just winning one or two games.
“They’ve wanted to continue to win and continue with that feeling.”
Asked whether the Blast has injected energy into Lancashire’s season’s, Jennings said: “I think it has, but I don’t necessarily think it’s just this competition.
“There’s been energy all the way through - the environment’s been really good. That’s one of the key factors that’s felt really good and consistent.
“I think we’ve just produced on-field performances in this competition which have been better than the first six or seven weeks of the season.
“Hopefully this gives us a confidence boost and some momentum heading into the next couple of weeks.”
How’s Stat!
Lancashire’s overseas Australian spinner Nathan Lyon is sat on 795 first-class career wickets.
This will be the legendary off-spinner’s penultimate appearance for the county before returning home to prepare for the home summer with New South Wales and Australia.