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Day 1, Sunday 29th
May, 2011
Kent have won the toss and are batting
It’s the first day of
Tunbridge Wells festival cricket week, the rhododendrons are out, it's not
raining and Kent have chosen to bat reaching 134 without loss at lunch. It’s
as if last season’s relegation and this season’s dreadful start (W1,
L4, D1) never happened.
Matthew Hoggard is bowling
from the Pavilion End; he over-pitches a quicker one and Joe Denley drives
through the covers for four. Naik
(off breaks from the Railway End) drops one short and Denley punches that
through the covers for four more. He’s
on 85*.
Now it’s Rob Key’s
turn: Hoggard finds his edge but it squirts through the vacant second slip
area for four; next ball is a wide half-volley which Key thumps through
the covers for another boundary. He’s
now on 69*. Denley punches
another shorter one from Naik through the covers… and so it goes on… a
gentle afternoon’s cricket.
With Kent in no trouble, a
bowling change brings reward (or rather respite) for the visitors as Key
is C&B by Andrew McDonald for 91 in the medium-pacer’s first over
from the Railway End. Unfazed,
Denley moves to 98* at Kent past the 200 with a brutal-looking square
drive off Wayne White who has replaced Hoggie at the Pavilion End.
Just two balls later he cuts for four behind point to get to
his hundred from just 147 balls with 19 fours.
Sam Northeast is in.
Two fours in his first over from McDonald sees second slip come out
again after a brief stay. Everything
is coming off the middle of the bat, along the ground, through the gaps as
Kent make serene progress unimpeded by Key’s earlier dismissal.
Hoggie dives to save runs at mid-on then brings himself back on at
the Railway End with a 6:3 field with a single slip and one out patrolling
the popular cover boundary. Wicket-keeper
New, who has assumed the gloves from the now-fielding Paul Nixon, stands
up to him (these days).
Now Malik’s on at the
Pavilion End and the sun’s gone in and the breeze whipped up.
He starts with a wide but looks lively. With Hoggie now bustling
in, the pair have put the brakes on – batting suddenly looks trickier
until Northeast relieves the tension with a delightful straight-driven
four. But Kent reach tea
without losing another wicket, although in the final over Hoggard finds
Northeast’s edge and the same batsman just clears extra with a risky
lofted drive. Kent are
269-1 with Denley 117* and Northeast 40*.
Post-tea it
gets colder
and darker and spin takes over the attack again.
Northeast moves to his 50 with a pair of square boundaries either
side of the wicket off Henderson (OB, Pavilion End); Denley responds with
a cover drive off Naik to push the host past 300 now.
Defeated by cold and
back-ache, I depart shortly before Denley finally falls to the returning
Hoggard (bowled, 143). At
338-2, the partnership had been worth 140.
Then, right at the close, Northeast fell too for 99 (lbw
McDonald).
It was interesting to see
Denley and Northeast together in what is likely to become a familiar
sight. Denley the taller, more
slender, driving and punching through the covers; Northeast chunkier and
scoring more all round the wicket.
Not a big crowd, possibly
put off by the cold weather forecast, but maybe also the timing of the Festival
– earlier than previous years, maybe?
And with two T20 games to follow later in the week.
Close: Kent 376-3 (Van Jaarsveld 17*, Stevens 0*).
Postscript:
KENT won the game by 5 wickets with wickets for Matt Coles, James
Tredwell (five each in the first innings) and Robbie Joseph (4 in the
second), Leics following on 208 behind Kent’s first innings 459, and
Denley (74) and Northeast (62) leading the way to the 155 second innings
target.
Dedicated to my father who died
earlier this week
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n't like cricket...
