Blake and Haggett stand secures draw
Alex Blake and Calum Haggett pressed their claims for a first team spot with a gritty unbroken stand to salvage a draw in the Second XI Championship opener against Somerset at Polo Farm.
Blake recorded a fluent counter-attacking 104-ball hundred in a 197-run partnership with Haggett who played a watchful innings of 71 off 125 deliveries against his home county.
Kent were 361 runs adrift after the first innings after Somerset won the toss on a benign batting wicket with Tom Banton (248) and George Bartlett (113) sharing a 327-run second-wicket stand before declaring on 603 for eight.
Imran Qayyum was the pick of the bowlers, removing both Banton and Bartlett after a 362-ball vigil. Triallist Lee Tyrrell took two wickets with one each for Adam Riley, former academy scholar Ollie Hills and Louis Pickering.
In reply, Blake top-scored again with 62 and Imran Qayyum narrowly missed out on a half-century with 49 as Kent were dismissed for 242.
After following on, academy scholar Harsh Kumar hit a mature 42 off 108 balls before being trapped LBW by veteran all-rounder Roelof van der Merwe before Blake and Haggett frustrated the visitors.