Kent stay in pole position for promotion after six-wicket win over Surrey

Kent v Surrey LV County Championship Division 2, Day four. Canterbury.
By Mark Pennell
KENT increased their lead at the top of the LV Championship Division 2 to 29 points with a game in hand after edging to a six-wicket win over Surrey with 18 balls to spare in sunny Canterbury.
In pursuit of a last day victory target of 200 from 38 overs Kent secured their seventh win of the summer courtesy of Rob Key“s brisk 54-ball 50 and a run-a-ball 45 from Geraint Jones.
The hosts were given the best of starts with a rapid opening stand of 90 in 15 overs between Key and Sam Northeast (28) before both fell in the space of four balls from all-rounder Stuart Meaker.
Northeast clipped firmly to mid-wicket where Stewart Walters held a good catch then, one run later, Key missed a shooter to go leg before to make it 91 for two.
Martin van Jaarsveld (19) bolstered the rapid run-rate until he fell to off-spinner Matt Spriegel, down the pitch and working to leg the ball took and inside edge off the pad and ballooned to Pedro Collins diving forward at short fine leg.
Jones went past 1,000 first-class runs for 2009 and for the first time in his career in reaching 21, but just 15 runs short of victory Jones danced down the pitch to Usman Afzaal to gift a stumping to Gareth Batty.
That left Darren Stevens (35*) and Justin Kemp (9*) to polish the job off just after 6pm to secure a maximum 22-point haul.
At the start of the day Kent were made to toil for Surrey“s last four remaining wickets as the visitors batted on until 3.15pm before finally succumbing for 293 to set up the last afternoon run chase.
Surrey lost two wickets in the morning then their last two in a dogged mid-session as they kept Kent in the field for a further 59 overs.
Their first victim of the day was all-rounder Chris Schofield, who went for a battling 36, then Jade Dernbach finally went after a dour 68-minute stay for only 16.
Pushing inside the line of one from Amjad Khan, the left-handed Schofield had the top of off stump grazed by one that appeared to seam down the St Lawrence slope to make it 163 for six.
Home skipper Rob Key rang the bowling changes using five bowlers in all and off-spinner James Tredwell from both ends, but seventh wicket partners Stuart Meaker and Dernbach refused to be budge during a 19-over stand worth 45.
It took a nasty, lifting delivery from Justin Kemp to finally dislodge Dernbach, unable to keep the ball down it flew off the splice of the bat to Darren Stevens, who pocketed a simple catch at backward point.
With Mark Ramprakash unable to bat because of a broken thumb, Kent needed two more Surrey wickets after lunch but Surrey still refused to lie down.
Stuart Meaker (64*) and Tim Linley added a useful 67 in 28 overs for the eighth wicket before Linley, on a county-best 36, prodded away from his body at one from Khan to edge to James Tredwell at third slip.
Last man Pedro Collins (12) then spliced an ugly slog to leg to Key at mid-off to force an early tea interval and leave Kent to chase at a rate of 5.26 an over thereafter.
Khan finished with three for 49, James Tredwell three for 72 and Phil Edwards a creditable two for 52.
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