Match Report: Kent vs. Nottinghamshire
Kent began their first of three crucial ties to end the LV= Insurance County Championship for 2023 by welcoming Nottinghamshire to The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.
Day Four Report:
Kent secured a draw in their LV= Insurance County Championship game with Nottinghamshire after nearly falling short in pursuit of a target of 168.
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The hosts were grateful for former Notts players Joey Evison and Ben Compton, who blocked for nearly 20 overs after Asitha Fernando took three quick wickets to help reduce them to 59 for five. Kent were 86 for six when the captains shook hands.
On a final day at Canterbury that veered between tedium and extreme tension, Notts were bowled out for 348 in their second innings, after being forced to follow on. A game that Kent looked likely to win and then seemed to be heading for a draw ignited in the final session. When Joe Clarke and Brett Hutton came together in the day’s seventh over, Notts were still trailing Kent’s first innings score of 446 by one, with just three second innings wickets remaining.
Clarke batted for 277 balls to make 141, and he put 148 for the eighth wicket with Hutton, who made a career-best knock of 84. By the time their partnership was broken Notts were 147 ahead and when Yuzvendra Chahal then took two wickets in as many balls it set up a fraught finale. Having dominated for most of the first three days Kent couldn’t resist the target and ended up enduring a nerve-shredding final hour.
Nottinghamshire began the day on 177 for five in their second innings and looking like they might not survive the first hour.
After a start delayed till 11.20am by rain, Kent took the new ball as soon as it became available and Michael Hogan used it to take two wickets from as many balls. His fourth delivery got rid of Lyndon James for 39 after he edged him to Jack Leaning at second slip, ending a stand of 102 and Calvin Harrison went lbw to the next delivery.
Hutton took a single from the hat-trick ball to bring the scores level and played like he was determined to set Kent a target, advancing to 48 not out at lunch, at which point it was 235 for seven, a lead of 54.
He reached 50 with a single from Nathan Gilchrist and as the game began to drift away from Kent, Clarke drove Hogan for four to reach three figures.
There were few chances but the game sparked to life when Hutton blocked a delivery from Nijjar and Clarke hared halfway down the wicket before he realised his partner hadn’t moved.
Chahal ran him out out by a yard.
Still bruised by their defeat at Middlesex, Nottinghamshire looked unlikely to declare and seemed comfortable enough at 348 for eight at tea, but Chahal had Paterson caught by Daniel Bell-Drummond for five with the fourth ball of the evening session and he wrapped up the innings two balls later when Asitha Fernando was caught by Zak Crawley for a duck.
Kent were scenting what would have been only their third red-ball win of the season, but they approached the chase as if they were playing Blast cricket instead of a modest five-an-over.
Crawley was sent out to open alongside Tawanda Muyeye instead of his regular partner Ben Compton, but after crunching Paterson for four he hit the next delivery straight to James at deep square leg.
Fernando then had Bell-Drummond caught for four by Harrison at slip, Jack Leaning was run out for six chasing a single that existed only in his head and Muyeye tried to hook Fernando and fell to an acrobatic Tom Moores grab.
With Kent reeling on 52 for four Compton was sent out to drop anchor, but Fernando produced a jaffa to send Harry Finch’s off stump flying for seven.
When Joey Evison joined Compton, with a minimum 19.1 overs remaining they made no attempt to chase the runs. After an hour’s resistance the latter was caught by Ben Slater off Matt Montgomery, but Nijjar and Evison just about clung on. Kent take 12 points and Nottinghamshire eight.
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Kent’s Matt Walker said: “It’d be easy to reflect on those last couple of hours and be disappointed but ultimately we’ve played some really good cricket over these fours days.
“We’re the team that really from ball one set out to win this game of cricket. We were positive in everything we did and the way we batted and bowled in the first innings.
“The follow on was a really positive move to try and win this game as we knew there was some weather around. We gave it everything and tried to win the game on the last day but unfortunately it didn’t quite go to plan.
“We lost too many wickets too early and had to put the anchor down, but I thought we were excellent all week. There were some good individual performances but as a team, watching how they threw their bodies on the line I thought was good and impressive.
“We tried everything. I think the spinners were excellent and the seamers get going. Nathan Gilchrist had a pretty sore hamstring and he just gritted his teeth and gave us everything. Hoges was outstanding but Clarke played a master-stroke innings, fair play to him and showed the quality he has as a cricketer. He was a real thorn in our side. Brett Hutton I suppose was the one, I think we were Brett Hutton away from winning this game. If we’d nipped him out early we probably would have won.
“There was no doubt in our minds that we were going to go for it but unfortunately it didn’t quite pan out. This should give us a lot of confidence.
“You can’t pay it safe and you can’t keep looking over your shoulder looking at what Middlesex and Northants are doing, that’s not how you operate at this stage of the season. You go out to win every game.”
Day Three Report:
Kent enforced the follow-on after dismissing Nottinghamshire early on Day Three before taking five wickets, ending the day still four runs ahead of the visitors’ combined score.
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Nottinghamshire ended day three on 177 for five in their second innings, a deficit of just four, after Clarke and James batted through the entire evening session to finish unbeaten on 61 and 38 respectively at stumps.
Aron Nijjar had earlier claimed career-best figures of four for 67 as the visitors were bowled out for 265 in their first innings.
Michael Hogan and Joey Evison then claimed two wickets apiece after Kent asked Notts to bat again, but after reducing the visitors to 78 for five, they were frustrated during a wicketless evening session.
The visitors began day three on 219 for eight, a deficit of 227, but with the weather forecast looking ominous and with electrical storms predicted to arrive by mid-afternoon, Brett Hutton and Dane Paterson actually hung around for 40 potentially crucial minutes against Nijjar and Chahal, adding just 10 to the overnight score.
Yet having taken 14 overs out of the game, Paterson started to hit out and he skied Nijjar to Jack Leaning, who took his fifth catch of the innings.
That last wicket duo managed to bat out a further 10 overs. Asitha Fernando didn’t come with a huge reputation as a batter but he made an entertaining 14 not out that included a six off Nijjar where he dropped to one knee and plastered him over cow corner.
With the follow on target dwindling Nathan Gilchrist was handed the new ball midway through the 97th over and he had Hutton caught behind for 31 with the second ball of the 99th.
By now the skies were looking leaden and Kent immediately told the umpires the wanted Notts to bat again.
After six overs of resistance Hogan produced an inswinger that splayed Haseed Hameed’s middle and leg stumps, bowling him for seven, but although Notts were 20 for one at lunch, after it Steven Mullaney and Ben Slater looked largely unthreatened until rain forced the teams from the field at 1.58pm.
Despite a 38-minute delay Kent were so far ahead of the over rate only an over was lost and Joey Evison duly transformed the mood in the ground with two wickets in three balls.
He broke the partnership when he tempted Mullaney into a pull that was caught on the backward square leg boundary by the sub, Arafat Bhuiyan. Slater then inexplicably drove Evison straight to Hogan at mid-off.
It was then Hogan’s turn to take two wickets in an over. He bowled Matt Montgomery, off stump for six and three balls later had Tom Moores caught at first slip thanks to a stunning one-handed grab by Zak Crawley.
The visitors had slumped from 63 for one to 87 for five at tea, but Clarke and James looked far more at ease after the resumption, offering few chances and steadily eroding Kent’s lead. Clarke hit a Nijjar full toss for four to pass 50 in the final scheduled over, although to the confusion of almost everyone in the ground, play continued.
The players, at least, seemed to know but no one bothered to tell the scorers, fans, press or PA announcer, until the umpires belatedly let it be known play was going to continue till 6pm, and a few desultory overs followed.
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Kent’s Michael Hogan said: “For us, being in the field for a five and a half hour session was a hell of a shift for the boys, but we spoke about to day and that when we were going to send them in, there were going to be partnerships.
“It’s a good wicket, it’s offering a little bit of spin but they’re good players out there and Joe Clarke seems to have played quite well. It’s going to be a hard graft but at the moment we’d rather be in our position than theirs. There’s still a lot of work to do but we’re in a nice spot.
“I guess it’s offered a little bit of swing and the nicks have carried for us. It’s spinning a bit and both Aron and Yuzi have bowled well for us so hopefully we can get the wickets early and chase whatever they set us.
“It wasn’t a slower ball (that got Montgomery). It was just slow I think. I was a bit stiff but I’ll take it as a piece of skill, let’s call it a slower one! I’ve had a bit of time off and have been able to get rid of some bad habits that I seem to have picked up. The ball’s coming out quite nicely.”
Day Two Report:
Kent spinners Aron Nijjar and Yuzvendra Chahal ripped through the Nottinghamshire middle order to reduce the visitors to 219 for eight in their LV= Insurance County Championship match at Canterbury, a deficit of 227.
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Steven Mullaney and Joe Clarke, who made 86 and 62 respectively, looked to have blunted the Kent attack with a century stand for the third wicket, but Nijjar took career-best figures of three for 41 and India’s Chahal claimed three for 52.
Nottinghamshire had started the day well, taking six for 59 to bowl Kent out for 446 before lunch. Lyndon James was one of four Notts bowlers to claim two wickets and he finished with the best figures of two for 30. Kent captain Jack Leaning made 64.
In a game that could be pivotal for their chances of staying in Division One, Kent resumed on 387 for four but Harry Finch fell for 47 in the third over of the morning, glancing Dane Paterson behind.
Paterson struck again when Leaning clipped him to Mullaney at mid-off and James removed Joey Evison for 16, caught behind trying to hook.
Nijjar was on 11 when he edged James and although Tom Moores couldn’t cling on to a one-handed grab, after a scrambled single Nathan Gilchrist hit the next ball almost vertically and was caught by Brett Hutton.
Nijjar, on-loan from Essex, went at the start of the next over, the 115th, when he tried to hook Hutton and was caught on the boundary by sub-fielder Sam King and the innings was wrapped up two balls later when Chahal edged Hutton behind.
Kent had lost their last four wickets for four runs in the space of 17 balls, but Nottinghamshire were soon rocked by the loss off Ben Slater for a third-ball duck, when he edged Michael Hogan to Leaning at second slip.
It was 17 for one at lunch, after which Hogan had Haseeb Hameed caught behind for nine, but from 29 for two Notts recovered with Mullaney and JClarke putting together a partnership worth 131.
Chahal generated some turn during his first spell, but aside from a difficult caught and bowled chance off Mullaney the batters initially picked him with relative ease.
Mullaney hit Evison for four to pass 50, while Clarke did likewise with a single from Gilchrist, but Nijjar finally broke through when he had Clarke caught by Leaning at mid-on with the final ball of the session to leave the visitors on 160 for three at tea.
That wicket sparked a dramatic shift in the momentum, with Notts losing four for 14 and going nearly ten overs without a boundary. Mullaney tried to smash Nijjar out of the ground and was caught by Daniel Bell-Drummond at backward point, Nijjar then bowled Moores for an eight-ball duck with a ball that spun sharply and Chahal claimed his first Kent wicket with a straight one that bowled James off stump.
Matt Montgomery hit a full delivery from Chahal straight to Leaning at mid-off and Calvin Harrison tried to swipe Chahal, only to become a sprinting Leaning’s fourth catch of the innings.
Paterson and Hutton survived a dicey seven over spell to reach stumps, but the hosts will be by far the happier at the end of day two.
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Kent’s Aron Nijjar said: “We had good communication, at the start we (Chahal and I) bowled a little bit too slowly, so bowling a little bit quicker was the better option. Towards the end we slowed it up a little bit but it was obviously nice to bowl with someone of such a high calibre and pick his brain between overs.
(On his first wicket) “It might never come, so it’s nice to get one and really good to get three. I’m just so pleased I can contribute and help the team out. I don’t think I’ve bowled many better than (the one that got Moores out).
“I’m very happy to be playing first-class four-day cricket again. It’s been a while, I think over two years now. I’m very thankful for the opportunity. We played a second team game (Kent v Essex) last week. I bowled well, took six wickets in the second innings and I mentioned to Jack (Leaning) and a couple of the other guys that I was available for a loan move if they needed anyone and it happened quickly with (Ben) Lister going to the New Zealand squad. I found out on Friday morning that I’d be playing on Sunday and so it all happened very quickly but I’m very happy for the opportunity.
“It’s very difficult to break into the Essex team at the moment so it’s up to me to keep my skill level as high as possible if the opportunity does arrive. I’ve paid my £2.50 to cross the bridge!”
Kent’s Yuzvendra Chahal said: “I think you have to give full credit to Aron with the way he bowled. It put pressure on them, especially on certain batsmen. That gave me more confidence that the wicket was spinning so when I came from the other end my idea was ‘ok, I have to support him, not give easy runs and bowl wicket-to-wicket.’
“That’s why I’m here. When your team need you always have to give 100 percent. Aron was bowling very well from the (Pavilion) End so that end was empty and I thought ok, I can put pressure on from that end.
“I haven’t played red ball cricket for 14 months so it was bit tough for me but it’s a good experience and I never felt like I was playing for Kent for the first time, the way they treated me. It’s like a family.
“We knew the ball would get old, that it wouldn’t be easy to hit and that it might spin. I think on the third and fourth day it will do more. It’ll be tough to bat on day four.
“When I was a kid I always wanted to play county cricket and luckily today I have. I might come back!”
Day One Report:
Zak Crawley hit a “Daddy Hundred” as Kent reached 398 for four on day one of their LV= Insurance County Championship fixture with Nottinghamshire at Canterbury.
The Ashes star cashed in after being dropped when he was on two, making 158 from 153 balls and hitting three sixes before he was caught and bowled by Calvin Harrison, who was Notts’ most potent bowler, claiming two for 104.
Daniel Bell-Drummond was Kent’s next highest corer with 60 while Jack Leaning and Harry Finch were unbeaten on 54 and 42 respectively at stumps.
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Kent were barely recognisable from the side that lost by 321 runs at Trent Bridge in July. Of the seven changes, Crawley was back from England duty and there were debuts for spinners Yuzvendra Chahal and Aron Nijjar, signed on-loan from Essex.
The major talking point, however, was the ongoing absence of club captain Sam Billings.
Billings had taken a break from red-ball cricket earlier in the season and although he was included in the squad, Leaning remained captain and Finch retained the gloves.
Nottinghamshire handed a debut to Sri Lanka’s Asitha Fernando, just 24 hours after he’d arrived in the UK and on a day when the temperature in Canterbury was 30 degrees, the same as in his native Katuneriya.
It looked like a vital toss to win and after choosing to bat Kent’s openers put on 95 in a partnership of almost diametrically opposed styles.
Crawley played like he was still in Ashes mode, riding his luck at times on a surface that wasn’t as dead as it initially appeared. He was put down by Dane Paterson at point in just the second over and responded by cracking Brett Hutton for four consecutive fours in the third.
He punched his way past 50 when he straight-drove Paterson for four while Ben Compton, after one expansive early effort, Geoffrey Boycotted his way to 18 before he was bowled trying to reverse sweep Calvin Harrison, four minutes before lunch.
Crawley brought up his century off exactly 100 balls when he nudged Lyndon James to point for a single and reached 150 when he pulled Fernando for one through fine leg before Harrison somehow clung on to a violent drive to remove him.
Bell-Drummond was out to the very next delivery when he tried to hook Fernando and went to an acrobatic grab by keeper Tom Moores, but Tawanda Muyeye pulled the final ball of the afternoon session for six to leave the hosts on 260 for three at tea.
Muyeye and Leaning put on 59 for the next wicket, before the former went for 35. Having edged Steven Mullaney for four he ran out of luck when he nicked the next ball to Harrison at slip, but Finch joined Leaning to earn Kent a third batting point and the skipper brought up his half-century when he flicked Mullaney to third man for four in the penultimate over.
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Kent’s Zak Crawley said: “I knew we had this in us, we’ve got a good batting line-up and it was a good day to bat so we’re obviously very happy with the situation.
“I was trying to be positive and I got a bit of luck early. I made the most of it. The ball was doing a little bit but I tried to take a punt and it came off. I felt really good, I’ve felt good the whole build up this last week. I felt so relaxed and I knew I had that score in me.
“There was a little bit there for sure, there wee a couple of nicks that went through the slips which were dropped and it’s starting to spin a bit well so that’s good and that’s what we wanted from the pitch.
“It’s obviously a big game for us. We need to win a couple of games, or one game to stay up. One might be enough but two would be nice and this might be one of the only games I play so to come back and contribute is always nice.
(On his dismissal) “I was so surprised I couldn’t believe he’d caught it. It was the hardest ball I’d hit all day and I just thought it was four. I was a little bit stunned by it but it was a brilliant bit of fielding.
(On his ODI role). “I think that’s what everyone wants, to play for England in n=any format. I’d love to be involved in that white ball set up and hopefully I get a few runs and keep knocking on that door. It’s an unbelievably good team and there’s just talent coming from everywhere so you’ve just got to stay ahead of the game.
“What I’ve done well this year is not pay much attention to that (the pressure.) I feel like I’ve been relaxed, just been myself and playing cricket for the fun of it again, which you and lose sight of sometimes. Hopefully I can continue with that mindset because it’s a lot more enjoyable. Even when it doesn’t go your way you realise how lucky you are to be playing professional sport. If you stray away from that you can get bogged down.
“It suits me to play that way (as he did with England). There’s going to be times when you get low scores and it’s going to look pretty average but if I can have days like today I wouldn’t swap that.”
“I watch Kent all the time (when away with England.) Some of my best mates are in this team and I really want them to do well, all the lads to be honest. I watch every game and follow every game intently and always want the boys to do well.”
International T20 cricket is back at The Spitfire Ground after 12 years next Summer!
International T20 cricket will return to Canterbury on Thursday 11 July 2024 when The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence hosts the 3rd match in England’s IT20 series against New Zealand.
It is only the second time that Canterbury has hosted a Women’s International T20 match in its long history, and will be another boost for the continued growth of women’s cricket in Kent.
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