LV=CC: Kent suffer defeat at the hands of Hampshire

Kent 1st innings
251 all out, 80.2 overs
Denly 67, Northeast 50, Blake 31
Cork 5-50, Briggs 2-26, Balcombe 2-67

Hampshire 1st innings
553-7 declared, 144.4 overs
Carberry 158, McKenzie 113, Pothas 76
Cook 2-95, Joseph 2-112, Khan 1-28

Kent 2nd innings
191 all out, 60.2 overs
van Jaarsveld 82*, Northeast 32, Cook 16
Cork 2-16, Tomlinson 2-28, Ervine 2-36

Hampshire win by an innings and 111 runs

By Sam Dixon

A poor batting display on day three of this LV=County Championship clash condemned Kent to an innings and 111 run defeat at the hands of Hampshire at the Rose Bowl.

On a pitch where the home side made 553, a depleted Kent side were dismissed for 191, second time around, to give bottom-placed Hampshire only their second championship win of the season. A bad day was then made worse when it was confirmed that skipper Rob Key (pictured) suffered a broken little finger whilst batting in the second innings and could face up to a month on the sidelines.

Resuming on 404 for five, the home side powered on to a mammoth first innings lead of 302 as Nic Pothas and James Vince effortlessly moved to their half-centuries in the morning session before the latter was trapped in front by Alex Blake on 57. Zimbabwean all-rounder Sean Ervine joined skipper Pothas at the crease and the duo took the score beyond the 500 mark. After a stand of 71, Pothas became Malinga Bandara’s solitary wicket of the innings when the Sri Lankan trapped him leg before for 78.

Before the inevitable declaration just after lunch, Ervine moved to fifty before Pothas called time on the innings with Hampshire very much in control. It was a hard slog for Kent’s attack minus Amjad Khan who only managed to bowl eight overs due to a strain to his left hamstring – not the right hamstring, he injured at Tunbridge Wells. He looks set to miss out on the four remaining t20 matches following this game, with the LV=CC match against Somerset, starting on 20 July, a likely return date.

Kent’s response started badly when Key was forced to retire after taking a blow to the hand; subsequent x-rays have shown a broken little finger that will rule the influential captain out for up to four weeks. Things worsened for the visitors when Joe Denly and Geraint Jones fell in quick succession to leave them effectively 14 for three with Key’s retirement.

Sam Northeast and Martin van Jaarsveld briefly repelled the Hampshire strike bowlers until David Balcombe struck to remove Northeast for 32 with Pothas taking the catch behind the stumps. The flow of wickets continued at a steady rate as the lower order were soon exposed. James Hockley (8), Blake (13) and Bandara (12) all threatened to show some resistance but all fell meekly as Kent slumped to 145-6, still way adrift from making Hampshire bat again.

With wickets falling around him, van Jaarsveld battled on for an unbeaten 82 but he finally ran out of partners when Khan fell for a duck to hand basement side Hampshire a thumping victory. Dominic Cork, James Tomlinson, Ervine and Balcombe all played their part with ball taking two wickets apiece as Kent suffered defeat on the south coast.