Match Report: Kent vs. Yorkshire
The Spitfire St Lawrence gets its first taste of LV= Insurance County Championship for 2021 as Yorkshire visit Canterbury to take on Kent.
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Day Four Report:
Kent suffered a 200-run defeat in their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury, but Yorkshire were frustrated for much of Day Four by night-watchman Matt Milnes, who hit a career-best 78.
David Willey eventually finished Kent off with five for 61, backed up by Jordan Thompson who took three for 24 to give Yorkshire 23 points in Group Three, while Kent took five.
Milnes batted for over four and half hours and faced 210 balls, including an 89-minute partnership with Darren Stevens, who was Kent’s next highest scorer with 47.
Resuming on 33/2 and trailing by 411, the hosts got off to a tough start when they lost Daniel Bell-Drummond for 24 to the fourth ball of the morning, with a spectacular inswinger from Willey that sent his off stump flying.
Joe Denly scored 30 from 33 balls and lingered for the best part of an hour, but he fell to a ‘jaffa’ from Thompson that was caught behind. Jack Leaning was then out for a duck when he edged his sixth ball, from Thompson, to Tom Kohler-Cadmore at first slip, but Robinson and Milnes survived until Lunch, with Kent on 119/5.
Kent frustrated Yorkshire throughout the afternoon session, with Milnes driving Dom Bess through cover for four to bring up his maiden first class fifty and Ollie Robinson reining in his attacking instincts for a measured 28. Robinson eventually perished when he edged Duanne Olivier to wicketkeeper Jonathan Tatershall, but Stevens joined Milnes to bat through to Tea, at which point Kent were 193 for six and harbouring realistic hopes of a draw.
The new ball finally accounted for Milnes, who was LBW to Willey in the 83rd over and he looked a picture of desolation as he trudged off with his head down and his shoulders slumped, not even raising a bat to acknowledge the applause of his team mates on the balcony.
Two overs later, Stevens was caught at mid-on by Joe Root off Willey and with Harry Podmore unable to bat due, Yorkshire clinched the win with 19.2 overs to spare when the same bowler had Miguel Cummins leg-before.
Kent welcome Lancashire to The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence next week for more County Championship action.
Kent Head Coach Matth Walker said (on Milnes): “He played brilliantly. I think he’s worked extremely hard this winter on his batting. I’m really pleased he went out and scored some runs to justify all the work he’s put in. He has a very simple technique and he did a brilliant job.
“It was a really great innings and it could have been something very special had he seen it all the way through. He laid a bit of a lesson out to some of our top order about how to go about it. It was a fantastic display of grit and concentration. I think he’s very frustrated and down in the dumps that he didn’t see it through.”
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Day Three Report:
Joe Root scored a century to put Yorkshire in a commanding position after day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship game with Kent at Canterbury, the visitors needing eight wickets for victory after declaring their second innings on 330 for five, setting Kent a target of 445.
The hosts were reduced to 33/2 at stumps and trail by 411 in the Group Three fixture, Jordan Thompson taking one for nought David Willey one for 15.
England batsmen past and present starred for the visitors, with former opener Adam Lyth hitting 116 and current skipper Root making 101 in their second innings. Kent’s Joe Denly took two for 61, while Matt Milnes claimed two for 68.
Yorkshire resumed on 6/0, and although Kent bowled well for the first hour, their only success during that time came when Grant Stewart had Tom Kohler-Cadmore caught at first slip by Jordan Cox for three.
Milnes trapped Tom Loten LBW for 21, shortly before lunch, but an attack shorn of the injured Harry Podmore struggled to make any impact during a truncated afternoon session.
Lyth was on 85 when he edged Milnes to slip, but Zak Crawley missed a difficult chance and having made 97 in his first innings, he emitted a howl of joy when he reached his century with a four off Miguel Cummins.
The visitors had moved on to 171 for two when play was suspended between 14:50 and 16:10 while the funeral of HRH Prince Phillip took place. with a minute’s silence being observed by all at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.
Lyth eventually fell to Milnes, caught at first slip by Cox, ending a stand of 119 for the third wicket. Harry Brook then joined Root and scored rapidly to set up the declaration, making an unbeaten 66 that included a reverse swept four.
Root was bowled by his England team mate Denly and Yorkshire declared when the same bowler bowled Thompson for six in his next over, forcing Kent to face 12 hazardous overs before stumps.
Willey subsequently yorked Cox for a duck and Crawley was caught by Lyth at slip off Thompson, leaving Daniel Bell-Drummond and nightwatchman Milnes the not out batsmen on 24 and nought at the close.
Kent Vice-Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond said: “Obviously we need to start well and try to get through that first hour unscathed or with as little damage as possible tomorrow. I feel if we get past the new ball that it’s a wicket we can get stuck in on and get the job done on.
“Lyth played very well and deserved his luck. That first hour was a very good period for us, it started to swing, probably for the first time in the game and Grant Stewart and Matt Milnes bowled really well so it was a shame we couldn’t get more than one, but fair play to the Yorkshire guys as well, they played well.”
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Day Two Report:
Yorkshire lead Kent by 120 in the second innings of their LV= Insurance County Championship game at Canterbury, reaching 6/0 at stumps on Day Two, having bowled the hosts out for 265.
The visitors had made 379 in their first innings, Steven Patterson adding 38 before claiming three for 43. Duanne Olivier also took three wickets for 55 to leave Kent in danger of following on in the Group Three match, but they recovered from 156/6, as Darren Stevens, who had earlier taken 4-60, top-scored with 52 and Ollie Robinson made 44.
At the close of play Adam Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore were not out on 6 and 0 respectively.
The visitors resumed on 358/8, but lost Steven Patterson to the fifth ball of the morning when he was caught by sub Fred Klaassen at cover, off Matt Milnes. Stevens then bowled Duanne Olivier for 5 to conclude Yorkshire’s first innings.
Kent lost Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond for 13, lbw to David Willey and England’s Zak Crawley had made just 1 when he was bowled by Olivier. Joe Denly was then lbw for 17 to Patterson with the final ball of the morning session, leaving Kent in trouble on 59/3 at Lunch.
When play resumed, the former Yorkshire player Jack Leaning didn’t even survive to the end of Patterson’s over, out lbw for a duck after just three balls, while Jordan Cox, who had looked comfortable, was leg before to the same bowler for 38.
The partnership Kent urgently needed came when Stevens, who got off the mark with a six over square leg, was joined by Robinson. They put on 70 for the sixth wicket before the latter was strangled down the leg side by Jordan Thompson and caught by a diving Jordan Tattersall for 44, leaving Kent on 193/6 at Tea.
Stevens reached his 50 with a single from the first ball of the evening session, but was lbw soon after to Harry Brook, who claimed only the second wicket of his first class career and his first since 2017. Grant Stewart and Milnes steered Kent past the follow on target, before Stewart was caught behind off Olivier for 40.
Miguel Cummins made 13 before he edged Olivier to Kohler-Cadmore, leaving Milnes unbeaten on 29 with Harry Podmore unable to bat due to a side strain. Yorkshire finished with seven bonus points and Kent five.
Kent’s Darren Stevens said: “The top order are gutted up there and feel like they’ve missed out.
“We’re not very satisfied to be fair. It was a flat pitch and we probably should have been four or five down. There were no demons in that pitch, they just had a good game plan.
“We’re going to have to try and dry them up and learn from what they did, hopefully pick up some wickets and slow the game down.”
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Day One Report:
Yorkshire reached 358/8 at stumps against Kent on a fluctuating first day in the LV= Insurance County Championship at Canterbury, former England opener Adam Lyth their top scorer with 97 and Harry Brook making 54.
Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens celebrated being named as one of Wisden’s Cricketers of the Year by taking three for 52 and Matt Milnes claimed two for 63, including the prize scalp of England captain Joe Root for 11, while wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson took five catches.
The visitors had regained control by the close of play in the Group Three fixture thanks to Steven Patterson and David Willey, who were unbeaten on 34 and 25 respectively, leaving Yorkshire with four bonus points and Kent two.
Yorkshire won the toss and opted to bat in numbingly cold conditions at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, racing to 28 without loss before Tom Kohler-Cadmore fell for 14 to the final ball of the fourth over, glancing a leg-side delivery from Stevens to Robinson.
The visitors continued to score at over six an over for the first hour and Lyth reached his fifty before noon, from just 43 balls, before Kent slowed the run rate. Harry Podmore then removed Tom Loten for 27, tempting him to prod at a leg side delivery that was caught behind, leaving Yorkshire 128/2 at Lunch.
Kent claimed four wickets in the afternoon session, including Root, who became Robinson’s third victim, when he was lured outside off stump by Milnes. Lyth then fell three short of his century, nicking Milnes to Robinson and Brook produced an innings of controlled aggression before he was LBW to Miguel Cummins.
With Podmore off the field with an injury, occasional bowler Jack Leaning took a wicket with his first ball, getting Jonathan Tattersall caught at slip by Stevens for 11, leaving the visitors on 240/6 at tea.
Dom Bess and Jordan Thompson batted through the first hour of the evening session before Stevens removed both, getting Bess LBW for 36 and Thompson caught behind for 34, reducing Yorkshire to 299/8, only for Patterson and Willey to frustrate Kent’s bowlers with an unbroken partnership of 59 for the ninth wicket.
After play, Kent ‘keeper Ollie Robinson said: “It’s always nice to get a catch, especially when it’s a big name (Root) but it’s just like any other wicket in county cricket I guess, so you can’t play too much on a name.
“We probably let them get away a bit this morning, then pulled it back a bit this afternoon and probably let it slip towards the end, giving them a few too many, but it’s a pretty even day getting them eight down, especially after the start they got off to.”
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