MATCH REPORT: Kent clinch seven-wicket victory
Kent eased their way to a seven-wicket victory on the fourth morning at Emirates Old Trafford to clinch their first Vitality County Championship win of the season.
Skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond led his team to their 164-run target with a an excellent unbeaten 79 despite some good pressure applied by Lancashire bowlers on the fourth morning with Nathan Lyon taking the two wickets to fall.
The visitors resumed the day on 71 for one needing a further 93 runs to win, and a tense battle developed during the first hour as Lancashire applied good pressure from the twin spin attack of Lyon and Tom Hartley.
Both created chances with four fielders present around the bat, but Kent pair Ben Compton and Bell-Drummond countered with some solid defence and good running while riding their luck at times on a turning wicket.
Compton survived a dropped catch when on 27, top eding a sweep off Lyon to backward square leg where a diving Will Williams initially caught the ball only for it to be jarred out of his hands on landing.
But Lyon was not to be denied for long, diving to his right to take a good catch off his own bowling after Compton shuffled down the wicket and drove straight back to the bowler after making 29 with Kent 91 for one and still 73 runs away.
Bell-Drummond calmed any visitors nerves, reaching his fifty off 115 balls – he now has scored at least fifty in all four matches this season, converting two of them into hundreds – and followed by hitting just the second boundary of the day by lofting Hartley to long-on.
Jack Leaning dug in alongside Bell-Drummond to make 16 before edging to Luke Wells at slip after playing back to Lyon when 35 runs were required.
Joe Denly (19 not out) helped Bell-Drummond knock those runs off with few alarms to clinch the win just before lunch interval.
Kent gain 20 points from the match and Lancashire 3.
Lancashire are next in action when we travel to Trent Bridge to play Nottinghamshire in the Vitality County Championship starting on Friday.
“It’s always disappointing to be on the wrong side of a result,” said Head Coach Dale Benkenstein.
“A couple of things coming into the job, everyone mentioned it’s hard to get results here.
“We’ve tried a few things in the first two home games, managed to get a pitch to spin in the first one in quite rainy conditions, and I think this was one of the best pitches I’ve seen with the ball carrying, bringing the seamers into the game, and also some real life for the spinners.
“I thought we bowled well, although at 70 for four we maybe had a chance to bowl them out for under two hundred. We played two spinners hoping that batting on days two and three would be the best time to bat.
“I think their attack just had a little bit more behind the ball and they made it tough for us.
“An innings where you are 50 for eight and get bowled out for 92, you are going to be struggling. That was disappointing. There was some good bowling from Kent and some pretty poor decisions from our batters.
“The nice thing is over the last two days we’ve played some very good cricket. That’s where we will focus on and try and take it into the next game.
“It was great to see your team go out there and still believe they can win defending 163. If we had got one or two wickets then it could have been a really interesting finish.”
“I thought we bowled far better than three wickets suggests. We had not one decision from the umpires. Quite a few appeals and I think they were under real pressure. But we never really had enough runs on the board.”
Benkenstein was enthused about the second innings contributions from the younger players in the side.
“It was fantastic to see two young guys (Bell and Hurst) get stuck in under pressure on a tough wicket," he said. "For me, it’s a great step forward.”
“We need our senior players to step up," he added.
"There’s room for them to be as good as they can be, we aren’t quite there yet with bat and ball. That’s exciting for me because if we can play as well as we can, and with our youngsters getting a bit of confidence, the team will get stronger and stronger as the season goes on.”
Ken Grime
Photos: George Franks
