Stevens grabs 5 before Northeast/Yasir record stand
Darren Stevens picked up his fifth five-wicket haul of the summer before Durham’s Irish paceman Barry McCarthy bagged four wickets to blow away Kent’s top order on day two.
In reply, skipper Sam Northeast and Yasir Shah shared an unbeaten club record ninth wicket stand against Durham in the last 23 overs as Kent battled to avoid the follow-on, closing on 211-8 in reply to Durham’s 448 all out.
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Kent slipped to 123-8 in 30 overs as McCarthy picked up a season-best 4-52 with the reliable Chris Rushworth claiming 3/61.
Northeast reached his 42nd first class 50 at the start of a stand with debutant Yasir Shah (37*), moving past Kent’s previous ninth-wicket record stand of 66 against Durham set by Min Patel and Mark Ealham at Tunbridge Wells in 2000.
The hosts still require another 88 runs on day three to avoid the follow-on.
Having batted for more than four sessions, Durham set about taking six Kent wickets during a 90-minute purple patch that sent the hosts reeling in at tea on 72 for six. All six wickets fell to bowling from the Nackington Road end and it was 24-year-old McCarthy who made the early inroads.
Starting his side’s first-innings response at 2.34pm, Kent’s opening bat Sean Dickson (0) soon departed lbw, plum in front when working across the line against the Dubliner, then No3 Joe Denly under-edged an attempted pull through to the keeper.
England Lions batsman Daniel Bell-Drummond nicked into the cordon as McCarthy took 3-15 in his opening burst, after which the bustling Rushworth took over down the Nackington Road slope where he continued to give Kent the hurry-up.
Joe Weatherley (6) had his middle stump plucked out by a full delivery, Will Gidman (4) nicked to third slip, then Adam Rouse (8) followed in identical fashion, to another Ryan Pringle catch.
Kent’s demise continued after tea when Darren Stevens (14) aimed to late cut against Gavin Main only to pick out Graham Clark at backward point, then Matt Coles (2) steered one to slip to gift Rushworth a fourth wicket.
Durham, having resumed on their overnight score of 318 for five at the start of the day, battled hard to add a further 130 runs to their total and in order to bank four batting bonus points.
After cracking a brace of boundaries in the day’s first over from Coles, Paul Collingwood posted his 34th first-class century from 160 balls. The 41-year-old celebrated by walking down the pitch on a zimmer frame to shake hands with his sixth-wicket partner Stuart Poynter.
Kent snatched a second bowling point in the 110th over when Stevens pegged back Poynter’s off stump to break a stand worth 67 then, four deliveries later, Matthew Potts suffered a fourth-ball duck on county debut when he followed a Stevens away-swinger to nick to the keeper.
Stevens, now 41, then completed his 17th first class five-wicket haul by Collingwood’s 208-ball stay for 120. The Durham skipper, Stevens’ junior by only 26 days, followed an away swinger and edged to Coles at slip.
Stevens rested after a morning stint of 11-3-23-3, enabling Durham to add a vital 73 runs inside 20 overs either side of lunch through ninth-wicket pairing Rushworth and McCarthy (24).
McCarthy’s useful stay ended when Yasir Shah plucked out his off stump to become the Pakistan Test bowler’s first scalp in Championship cricket. Soon after, Rushworth’s 67-ball cameo of 57 ended when Bell-Drummond took a diving catch in the deep off Coles (3/118).