Key content with win, but Kent’s batting must improve

By Mark Pennell

KENT skipper Rob Key was content with his side“s 76-run championship win over Gloucestershire but quick to point out that the side must improve their batting if they are to sustain their promotion push.
Though Kent move within nine points of the Division 2 leadership with a game in hand, Key knows the county“s first innings totals must improve during the second half of the campaign.
After a surprisingly low-scoring game at Beckenham, only two batsmen hit 50s in the match, on a usually reliable Worsley Bridge Road pitch, Key said: “I always say this is one of the best wickets in the country, but this time it was very dry and had slow, tennis-ball bounce rather than good pace.
“If you bowled a good length, as both teams did, scoring runs here was quite tough and the slips always seemed to be in the game.
“Not many batsmen were bowled (only two, one of whom dragged on), but there were a lot of nick-offs to the cordon. It actually made for a good cricket wicket.
“If you look at our individual scores I got 30, ‘Jonesie“ 40 and ‘Jarre“ (van Jaarsveld) a couple of 50s, then ‘Kempie“ played well but ran out of partners; there“s no doubt we need to up our performances with the bat a little.
“If we can get more on the board, particularly in the first innings, it will allow us to relax a little bit more in the field, which is something we“d all like, because games like this can become a bit tense.”