Match Report: Kent vs. Lancashire
Kent Men faced Lancashire in the penultimate match of the 2026 Rothesay County Championship at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury.
The curtain comes down on the 2026 season at the St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury as Kent Men take on Gloucestershire in the Rothesay County Championship.
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Match reports supplied by the ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay
Day Three Report
Kent remain firmly in the Rothesay County Championship promotion race after they beat Lancashire by seven wickets at Canterbury on Thursday.
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Needing just 56 to win at the start of play, having resumed on 84 for 2, they coasted home after just 18.3 overs on day three, finishing on 142-3.
Tom Bailey had Tawanda Muyuye lbw for 43, but Sam Northeast finished on 48 not out, while Daniel Bell-Drummond hit the winning runs, to finish unbeaten on 19.
Kent were 84-2 when play began at midday, chasing 140 to win, after a 90-minute delay due to rain.
Although Muyeye hit James Anderson’s first ball of the day through cover for four, Lancashire didn’t make it easy for the home side. Muyeye was out to Bailey in the fourth over of the session, but with so few runs to defend they stood little realistic chance.
The biggest round of applause of the day came when it was announced the scheduled lunch interval would be delayed until there was a result and during the extension Bell-Drummond cracked Balderson for four to seal the victory.
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Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond said: “It was a great couple of days. The guys did a really professional job with the bat and ball, and especially yesterday. There were a few tired bodies with where we are in the season, but all the seamers really stood up. Matt Quinn wasn’t too well, but put in a proper shift for us and it was great to see Khaled bowl well throughout the game, and Matt Milnes. They were backed up by Keith Dudgeon, who was excellent, so I think we owe a lot to the bowlers.
“With the bat, especially Zak Crawley’s first innings knock was a match-winning knock. To play that way on a tricky wicket, with that confidence, to give us a 50-run lead or so, 60-run lead, was a great effort.
“The way Sam Northeast and Tawanda played was excellent, especially Tawanda last night, obviously taking the attack to them and recognising a moment to really put the game in our favour. And then Sam’s showing his experience today and seeing us through to the end. So, like I say, it was a really professional performance.”
Day Two Report
Kent were 84-2 at stumps, chasing 140 to win their Rothesay County Championship with Lancashire, after another nerve-shredding day in the Division Two promotion race at Canterbury.
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Zak Crawley top-scored with 84 as third-placed Kent made 214 in their first innings, Mitch Stanley taking all three wickets to fall on the second day, to finish with four for 61.
Matt Milnes, Khaled Ahmed and Keith Dudgeon all took three wickets apiece as Lancashire were bowled out for 192 second time round, setting Kent a target of 140. Michael Jones was their top scorer with 54.
Kent wobbled to 22 for two in reply, but Tawanda Muyeye and Sam Northeast were unbeaten on 37 and 23 respectively at the close, meaning they need 56 more runs to win on day three.
Lancashire endured a frustrating first hour, as Crawley and Milnes batted Kent into the lead, wiping out a 10-run overnight deficit.
Crawley, 68 overnight, was the first man to go. He was put down by Marcus Harris off James Anderson, before Stanley pinned him in front.
Stanley then got Khaled Ahmed with a toe-crusher for nought, before he bowled Matt Quinn after an entertaining cameo of 13, leaving Milnes unbeaten on 40 and Kent with a first innings lead of 53.
Khaled struck in his first over, getting Keaton Jennings caught by Crawley at first slip, before Jones and Josh Bohannon took Lancashire to 38 for one at lunch.
Bohannon, however, went without adding to his 14 soon after, when he edged Quinn to Northeast at second.
Marcus Harris joined Jones for a stand of 71, but just as Lancashire were looking set, Milnes had the latter lbw. Rocky Flintoff then got a pair when he was lbw for a second-ball duck to Dudgeon in the next over.
Milnes took the key wicket of Jones when he had him lbw, leaving Lancashire on 142 for five at tea.
Khaled had Arav Shetty caught behind for 11 in the first over of the evening session before Dudgeon bowled George Balderson’s off stump for 13.
Tom Bailey hit eight before he slashed Milnes to Muyeye and Matty Hurst fell into a trap, flicking a Dudgeon full toss for a six, only to sky the next delivery to Bell-Drummond at extra cover.
Milnes then castled Stanley for 1, leaving Kent with 16 overs in the day, but they lost both openers cheaply.
Ben Compton was bowled by Bailey for five and then Balderson, who replaced Anderson after just thee overs, had Crawley caught behind for 13 by Hurst, who was standing up to the stumps.
After that initial shock the runs flowed more freely and Northeast and Muyeye took Kent past the halfway mark, with Muyeye flaying six fours to ease the nerves of the home supporters.
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Kent’s Khaled Ahmed said: “I’m very happy. Firstly, I try to bowl in the channel, time to time, so I stay strict in the process. The first spell was quite slow, but after lunch it was coming a little bit. So we are doing partnership bowling, then the wickets come.
(On being on a hat-trick ball after the first innings).
“Yeah, I forgot this one. Someone told me ‘you missed the hat-trick’. Obviously, I wanted one, but yeah, I’m very happy. The guys also appreciate me, so I’m very happy.
“I miss Hasan (Mahmud) but he sent me a video and wished me good luck. Both (batters) are doing well today, so hopefully tomorrow we’ll continue.”
Day One Report
It was a day to forget for the batters on both sides of Kent’s Rothesay County Championship with Lancashire at Canterbury, with 17 wickets falling.
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Promotion hopefuls Kent skittled Lancashire for 161, with Khaled Ahmed taking five for 42 and Matt Milnes four for 28, but the visitors’ opening stand of 81 turned into by the far the biggest partnership of the match. Michael Jones was their top scorer with 44 and Keaton Jennings made 30, but they suffered a catastrophic afternoon session, losing all ten wickets for 88 runs.
Kent then suffered an almost equally cataclysmic evening, lurching to 151 for seven at stumps: James Anderson then took three for 25, but Zak Crawley’s unbeaten 68 got them close to parity.
Kent put Lancashire in, but initially struggled to break through. Jennings edged Matt Milnes when he was on three, but Benjamin, standing behind the stumps, couldn’t react in time.
The track was so close to the Old Dover Road side of the ground that a higher than usual number of sixes were expected and Jones hit the first, bludgeoning Keith Dudgeon over midwicket.
It was 73 without loss at lunch, but Lancashire then lost four wickets for one run. Jennings gave his wicket away, hitting Khaled Ahmed straight to Dudgeon at backward point for 30 and in the next over Jones was lbw to Milnes, before Marcus Harris was caught behind for a second ball duck.
Rocky Flintoff was lucky not to get a first-baller to Milnes, but he was out lbw to Khaled in the next over anyway.
Josh Bohannon edged Matt Quinn behind for 20 and Matty Hurst went off shaking his head after he nicked Khaled to Tawanda Muyeye for 37, the umpires conferring for several seconds before giving him out.
Arav Shetty was put down by Zak Crawley when he edged Khaled to first, but he’d only made seven when Milnes had him caught behind.
Tom Bailey went for six, slashing Milnes to Muyeye at third, and Khaled bowled Mitch Stanley middle stump for a second ball duck.
Khaled concluded the innings when he got James Anderson caught by Sam Northeast at second with the next ball, leaving George Balderson not out on five.
The Kent innings was nearly as chaotic. Anderson got Ben Compton early, caught behind for six. Northeast fell in his next over, caught by Jennings at second, but Anderson dropped Muyeye off Tom Bailey in the next over.
Muyeye hit Anderson for three consecutive fours, only to be lbw to his next ball.
Stanley had Daniel Bell-Drummond caught for nine by Jennings at second slip and Bailey bowled Benjamin off stump for 15.
Bertie Foreman lasted 16 balls for one before he hit Bailey to Jones at fourth slip and Dudgeon got a third ball duck, lbw in the same over, with Kent still 44 in arrears.
Crawley, however, clipped a single off Bailey to score the only half-century of the match so far and Milnes hung around to make eight not out when bad light stopped play with two scheduled overs remaining.
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Kent’s Matt Milnes said: “It’s a very entertaining game, it’s happened fast, hasn’t it? I think it’s hard to digest straight away really. Obviously, the first session we felt like it didn’t really do a huge amount, it may have nipped a touch from a bit wider, but it seemed really slow and really low. I thought at one stage we were probably in for the long haul a little bit. I don’t think we bowled badly, I think we actually bowled quite nicely. We held the rate, I think they probably went at two and overs, something like that.
“It just quickened up and I think we put the ball in the right areas that spell after lunch and put some pressure on their middle order and thankfully managed to bowl them out towards the end of that session. Then, obviously, we knew we were probably going to have to scrap it out a bit tonight.
“There was enough happening for the bowlers and we obviously got a good attack as well. So, we knew it was going to be a tricky period for us to bat. And then, the way Zak batted was incredible, really. I thought, on that pitch and in the situation, that was worth 160 rather than 60 or whatever it is. So, yeah, it was a serious knock.
“It was obviously, a big blow for us losing Hasan (Mahmud). He’s obviously a high-class bowler. But, for Khaled to step into his shoes, he has really big shoes to fill, but to step into them and do the job today, I thought he bowled really nicely.”
(On bowling up the hill and taking wickets)
“I’m not sure you need to say that too loudly, it’s not your favourite. I think it’s harder work, it’s harder on the body, anyway. To be fair, I do think, it’s weird, you can attack the crease a bit more this end and I think I rely on that as a bowler quite a lot. But, yeah, I felt a really good rhythm after lunch up the hill.”
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