Kent v Lancashire: Northeast passes 1,000 red-ball runs in 2015
Wednesday 2nd September 2015
Sam Northeast passed 1,000 LV= County Championship runs as he scored his 11th first-class century as Kent declared on 570 for eight on day two.
Season’s best individual scores by Rob Key (113), Northeast (139) and Darren Stevens (92) led to Kent’s post-tea declaration on 570 for eight – their second best total of the season.
Then, needing 421 to avoid the follow-on and four batting bonus points to clinch their promotion to Division One, Lancashire reached 25 without loss before bad light and rain ended play seven overs before the scheduled close.
The day was dominated by Northeast, however who, having proffered a tough chance to slip when on four and then another to cover point with his score on 17, went on to post his maiden LV= Championship hundred of the summer.
He featured in a sumptuous mid-session partnership with Stevens worth 183 in 38.2 overs and went to three figures by smashing three fours and a six in consecutive balls from Simon Kerrigan.
Summing up his side’s performance, Northeast said: “It’s a pretty good pitch, but you have to be pleased in posting 570. We have an opportunity now, with two more days to go, to have a good crack at winning this.
"It’ll be hard work to bowl them out twice, but hopefully James Tredwell, our spinner will come into play.”
Northeast, who needed 77 to pass 1,000 runs for the summer, added: “It wasn’t my most fluent of innings this year and, if I’m honest, I was more nervous in the 70s than I was in the 90s.
"It was a big moment approaching my thousand runs for the summer because I’d never got there before. So yes, it was an important day for me personally, but I’m more pleased with a big total on the board and our position in the match.
“We have recent history with Lancashire and there’s still a sour taste after the NatWest T20 Blast quarter final. We know what they need to get promoted, so it’d be nice if we can win the game, get one up on them this time and maybe make them wait that little bit longer.”
Resuming in their overnight score of 235 for three, Kent lost night watchman James Tredwell (11) to a sharp catch at gully then Ben Harmison for 19, after the left-hander clipped a low chance to short mid-wicket off the bowling of Tom Bailey to send the hosts in at lunch on 332 for five.
Kent’s sixth-wicket partners bossed proceedings thereafter, skipping along at a run rate approaching five-an-over.
Stevens, with his score on 39, posted the 13,000th run of his illustrious first-class career and the milestones continued as Northeast posted his first century of the summer from 177 balls with 13 fours and a six.
Stevens duly went past 76 – his previous best this summer – and moved into the 90s with a swept six against spinner Simon Kerrigan but, in trying to repeat the dose to the next delivery, picked out Hasseb Hameed who took a comfortable catch at deep backward square leg.
After tea, Northeast advanced down the pitch looking to deposit from Kerrigan over the deep extra-cover ropes only to miss out and present a simple stumping to Alex Davies.
His namesake and Kent counterpart, Ryan Davies, added 17 to Kent’s tally before Toby Lester took an athletic catch off skipper Steven Croft and Kent’s declaration soon followed.