Kent v Australia: Bell-Drummond 100 and Claydon half-century against tourists
Sunday 28th June 2015
Daniel Bell-Drummond lit up a fine Kent resistance with a 92-ball century against Australia in the tour match at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.
Australia won by 255 runs but not before the 21-year-old opener hit 127 runs off 112 balls as the Lewisham-born batsman saw off the new ball from Mitchell Johnson, Ryan Harris and Peter Siddle to record his fourth century of the season.
Receiving a handshake from Australia skipper Michael Clarke as he departed, Bell-Drummond fell lbw to Ryan Harris after hitting 21 boundaries and three sixes.
The innings was compared favourably to Colin Cowdrey's ton in Kent's only victory over Australia since the 19th century, which took place 40 years ago this weekend.
Mitchell Claydon made 53 off 27 balls with some destructive hitting against his compatriots, but the tourists claimed a 255-run triumph.
Spin from Fawad Ahmed (2/74) and Steve Smith (3/54) picked up five wickets but not before Kent fought back with Daniel Bell-Drummond and later, Mitchell Claydon counter-attacking, clearing the ropes to the delight of the fourth-day crowd at Canterbury.
More than 15,000 people attended the four-day match with a similar number of pints of the sponsors' brew served at the ground in a match played in the best of spirits.
The performance of two 21-year-olds stood out for Kent: Matt Hunn's first-innings five-wicket haul and Bell-Drummond's century were outstanding performances against a side intensely competing for starting spots in the Ashes series next month.