TW100: Kent v Hampshire LV= CC, Day Three Match Report
Friday 8th June 2012
Liam Dawson hit a century in the LV= County Championship Division Two clash, which will see Hampshire go into the final day on 229 for six in the first innings of a rain-ruined game.
After four pitch inspections, play finally got under way at 4pm at The Nevill – almost 47 hours since Kent had taken Hampshire's third wicket on Wednesday evening – and with the visitors resuming on 90 for three.
Despite heavy overnight rain and the square having sweated under the covers since Tuesday afternoon, the pitch revealed nothing untoward and Simon Katich and Dawson suffered no alarms in reaching their respective half-centuries.
Australian left-hander Katich reached the milestone first from 99 balls and Lawson passed the landmark from 117 balls, soon after clubbing a four and a six from James Tredwell's first three balls of the game.
Tredwell enjoyed a measure of revenge however when, with the Hampshire score on 136, Katich padded up to an arm ball to go lbw for 54.
Three overs later Sean Ervine, looking to drive on the up against Matt Coles, dragged the ball onto his off stump and sloped off without scoring.
With his dander up, Coles bounced one in at Michael Bates to break the right-hander's grille and snap off half a front tooth in the process.
The batsman changed his headgear and continued on gamely but, with his score on 30, he fenced at a Charlie Shreck leg-cutter and steered a comfortable catch to Tredwell at second slip.
It proved Kent's final success of the day, but there was still time in a 44-over final session for Dawson to reach his hundred with a sweetly-timed boundary against Tredwell.
By stumps Dawson had reached 111, with Dimitri Mascarenhas unbeaten on six.
** Kent Cricket announced this afternoon that they will be offering free entry to all for the final day of this LV= CC match. With no rain forecast on Saturday in Tunbridge Wells the day could see substantially more action than days one to three. **
Photo Sarah Ansell SarahCanterbury.com