Kent v Glamorgan LV=CC: Day Three

On the day Surrey won promotion to the top flight of LV= County Championship, their former skipper Stewart Walters struck a dogged county-best 147 to help Glamorgan build a 186-run first-innings lead over Kent at Canterbury.

Walters batted over six hours on a docile pitch, hitting 15 fours and a six in his 257-ball stay as Glamorgan extended their overnight score from 258 for four before declaring on 423 for nine.

In the 45 overs remaining in the day, Kent, batting against a Kookaburra ball for their second innings, reached 148 for five to trail by 38 going into the final day of the championship campaign.

Kent'sreply started brightly as teenager Daniel Bell-Drummond stroked six crisp boundaries on his way to 29 before chopping a Graham Wagg off-cutter onto his leg stump.

Soon after tea Joe Denly charged down the pitch to Dean Cosker only to be stumped by a couple of yards, then Alex Blake, shouldering arms, and Darren Stevens, prodding down the wrong line, fell lbw in successive overs of left-arm spin from Nick James.

Azhar Mahmood (31 not) and Sam Northeast added 54 for the fifth wicket and were only three overs from the close when Northeast missed a slog sweep against Cosker to fall lbw for 51.

Despite the use of the pink ball under floodlights for the first time in championship history, it could be said thatlittle lit up this end of season battle, played out on a slow, low wicket that made attractive stroke-making difficult.

Even Walters, who said this was the slowest pitch he had experienced in first-class cricket, admitted his innings was something of a war of attrition.

He added 106 in 30 overs in tandem with fifth-wicket partner Mark Wallace who, after a breezy 57, played across the line to go leg before to Azhar Mahmood.

Two overs later, Mahmood truck again by yorking Wagg to send Glamorgan into a 4pm lunch break having added only 73 in the opening two-hour session.

Soon after the restart, Walters’ marathon ended when he miscued an attempted pull against Adam Ball into the hands of Mahmood at mid-on then, without addition to the score, Aneurin Norman spooned one to cover point off the bowling of Matt Coles.

Cosker was then outfoxed by fellow spinner Adam Riley, who turned one from middle to clip off and spark Alviro Petersen’s declaration soon after 6pm.

Click here for the ECB Scorecard

For video highlights click here

Photo by Sarah Ansell SarahCanterbury.com