Match Report: Yorkshire vs. Kent
Kent took on Yorkshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship at Leeds.
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Day Four Report:
Nathan Gilchrist claimed a superb four for 74 in his second first-class game as Kent’s LV= Insurance County Championship clash with Yorkshire ended in a draw at Emerald Headingley.
During an entertaining shortened final day, Gary Ballance fell four runs short of a 41st career century after a direct hit by Marcus O’Riordan saw the former England batter run-out for 96.
A wet outfield delayed day four until 14:45 – a knock-on effect of the day three washout – and both sides secured useful bonus points.
Yorkshire, who remain second in the table, resumed their first innings on 240 for five from 77 overs in reply to 305 and ended 321 all out inside 106 thanks to Ben Coad’s unbeaten 33 off as many balls at number 10.
Ballance resumed on 91 and was one of three wickets to fall before tea – 269 for eight in the 97th over.
Ballance pulled Darren Stevens for four to move to 96, only to fall run out by a direct hit from Marcus O’Riordan at the striker’s end after Dom Bess had pushed the ball to backward point.
Play was taking place under floodlights, and the early setback of losing Ballance and Bess – bowled by Stevens to leave the score at 256 for seven – limited their run-scoring expectations.
Jordan Thompson and Steve Patterson attempted to up the ante, only for the latter to be caught behind cutting at seamer Gilchrist at the start of the afternoon’s final over.
Coad came to the crease immediately after tea and dominated a 35-run stand for the ninth wicket with Thompson, hitting four of his first 12 balls to the boundary.
A brief delay for bad light at 5pm was initially interpreted as the end of the fixture by onlookers, only for play to resume 10 minutes later with Yorkshire 304 for nine in the 104th over.
But Duanne Olivier holed out to long-on off Jack Leaning shortly afterwards to bring things to a close.
Kent seamer Nathan Gilchrist said: “It’s been good after a tough start to the season. We’ve shown some real character this week.
“If it wasn’t for the rain, we could have had a really positive week. There were some positive performances. Hopefully we can build on that going forwards.
“It’s only my second game, so I’m still trying to find my feet. But it’s very pleasing to get a few wickets.”
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Day Three Report:
There was no play possible between Yorkshire and Kent on Day Three at a sodden Emerald Headingley.
Heavy morning rain has severely dented the chances of a positive result for either side in this LV= Insurance County Championship fixture, one which remains in the first innings.
Replying to Kent’s 305 all out, Yorkshire will begin tomorrow’s final day on 240 for five, trailing by 65 with Gary Ballance only nine runs away from a 41st career first-class century.
Umpires Peter Hartley and Richard Kettleborough inspected the puddled outfield at 11am and called a close to the day almost immediately.
A contrivance aside, it is now difficult to see how this Group Three clash will end in anything other than a pursuit of bonus points in a draw.
Yorkshire currently have three bonus points and Kent four.
While Ballance heads towards his first century since July 2019 following illness and injury, Kent’s 20-year-old seamer Nathan Gilchrist will be looking to build upon his first two first-class wickets which he claimed on day two.
Impressive Gilchrist forced Tom Kohler-Cadmore to play on and trapped Harry Brook lbw in 12 threatening overs in only his second game at this level.
Like Ballance, the former England Test left-hander, Gilchrist was born in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Yorkshire came into this fixture second in Group Three behind Lancashire having won three and drawn one of their opening four games.
Kent were bottom of the table having lost three and drawn one.
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Day Two Report:
Joe Root was caught behind down the leg-side for 41 as Gary Ballance’s polished 91 not out led a Yorkshire response to Kent’s 305 on Day Two at Emerald Headingley.
Well-set Root fell to on-loan Essex seamer Matt Quinn nine balls after Tea.
He shared a third-wicket partnership of 83 inside 21 overs with former England colleague Ballance, who underpinned Yorkshire’s 240 for five from 77 overs at Stumps.
In what is expected to be his penultimate LV= Insurance County Championship fixture before England’s June series with New Zealand, Test captain Root fell to an Aucklander.
Kent added 81 to their overnight 224 for seven.
Marcus O’Riordan and West Indian seamer Miguel Cummins – 40 and 28 not out – put on 60 in an entertaining ninth-wicket partnership.
Cummins whacked two leg-side sixes in a Steve Patterson over. The second, over long-on, cleared the stands.
Jordan Thompson, Duanne Olivier and Dom Bess struck to wrap up the Kent innings and leave Yorkshire with 15 minutes of batting before lunch.
Having been dropped at point on one by Joe Denly off Darren Stevens, Adam Lyth clipped the same bowler over midwicket for six early in the afternoon.
But Stevens got his revenge when Lyth attempted to go over the top again and found mid-on for 23.
Yorkshire’s 39 for one in the 16th over became 48 for two five overs later when threatening seamer Nathan Gilchrist forced struggling Tom Kohler-Cadmore to play on for 14. Root was busy throughout his 69-ball innings with five fours.
Ballance reached his fifty off 89 balls whilst in partnership with Harry Brook for the fourth wicket, with their equally peaceful alliance amounting to 102 inside 31 overs.
Brook added his fourth half-century of 2021 off 65 balls before falling LBW to Gilchrist shortly before close. Denly also trapped Jonny Tattersall lbw as Yorkshire fell to 236 for five.
Kent spinner Marcus O’Riordan said: “We’re pretty happy. The seamers bowled really consistently, and we got our rewards.
“Those late wickets have given us a sniff with the new ball coming up tomorrow morning. That’s a time where we can make a move. To sneak a lead would be nice.
“Matt Walker spoke to us before the game, particularly about Alan (Igglesden), saying that he’d be here today. That gave us a bit more perspective about what it means to play for Kent.”
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Day One Report:
England’s Zak Crawley showed flashes of elegance during a battling 90 as Kent enjoyed an encouraging opening day against unbeaten Yorkshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship at Emerald Headingley.
Crawley came to the crease after six balls following the early departure of captain Daniel Bell-Drummond.
He faced challenging conditions and a miserly White Rose attack led by Ben Coad, Jordan Thompson, Dom Bess and skipper Steve Patterson, who won the toss.
His 171-ball innings underpinned their 224 for seven from 89.1 overs at close. Patterson was the pick of the home attack with two for 33 from 17 overs alongside three wickets for Coad before rain ended play early.
Former Yorkshire Championship winner Jack Leaning also contributed 47 for Kent.
Bell-Drummond edged the opening over’s final ball from Coad – back in Yorkshire’s team after missing three games with a pectoral injury – to Harry Brook low down at third slip, leaving Kent at four for one.
However, they fought hard thanks to Crawley’s third fifty in 2021 for county and country and Leaning’s first score above 12 since the opening innings of the season, including a pair against Yorkshire in last month’s home defeat.
The pair shared 79 inside 32 overs either side of lunch for the fourth wicket.
Kent fell to 65/3 shortly before lunch, with Patterson and Thompson getting Jordan Cox and Joe Denly caught at second slip.
Crawley played one particularly memorable on-drive for four off Coad and was strong on both sides of the wicket.
He also had to navigate the threat of Test team-mate Bess, whose off-spin was introduced 40 minutes before lunch.
Leaning took 29 balls to score his first run before Crawley reached 50 off 112 balls. But his departure was soft after all the hard work.
He miscued a drive at Patterson to Joe Root at cover, leaving Kent at 144 for four late in the afternoon.
Leaning’s was also soft. He was caught at slip aiming a drive at Brook’s medium pace two overs before the new ball, leaving Kent at 206 for five and ending a partnership of 62 with Ollie Robinson.
The industrious wicketkeeper made 38, including a straight six off Bess, but fell as one of two late wickets for Coad. Darren Stevens also departed.
After the day was ended by rain, Kent’s Zak Crawley said: “It’s a shame to lose a few wickets late in the day, but it wasn’t easy to bat on in certain periods. At other times it felt quite flat.
“There’s enough it in for our bowlers for that to be a decent score so far.
“I’ve felt in decent touch the last few weeks, but the runs haven’t quite been there. So it was nice to spend some time in the middle.
“I have high standards for myself, and I’ve definitely been below those so far this year. I feel like I played well, but I was angry when I got out. I didn’t even want a hundred, I wanted a lot more than that.”
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Nearly 22 years after former Kent and England seamer Alan Igglesden was first diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumour, ‘Iggy’ and wife Liz have spoken to the Professional Cricketers’ Trust (PCT) about the couple’s remarkable journey and the unfathomable challenges that they have faced together along the way.