Stevens relieved to record century as Kent aim to build big lead

Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens admitted he was relieved to reach three figures in the Specsavers County Championship for the first time since June 2014.

The 40-year-old scored the 30th first-class century of his career off 114 balls as he shared an unbroken stand of 205 with Sam Billings (87*) as both batsmen achieved their best scores in the competition this season.

Kent's beneficiary for 2016 said: "It was nice to get my first century of the season and to get the 30th of my career two. I've been waiting for about two and a half years for that.

"To be honest it's been a bit of a nightmare recently, so there was a sense of relief when I got over the line.

"Now, we need to keep going and bat well for a session or half a day and see where that takes us.

"We are certainly in a strong position, but we need to push on from here and make it count."