Kent’s South African paceman Keith Dudgeon took 4 wickets to all however shatter Northamptonshire’s hopes of chasing 260 on day two of their County Championship match at Wantage Highway.
On a day which encompassed elements of three innings and noticed 20 wickets fall, Dudgeon claimed 4-32, together with three in 9 balls, as Northamptonshire stumbled to 107-7 at stumps, nonetheless requiring 153. Solely George Bartlett’s battling unbeaten 54 presents the hosts some faint hopes for tomorrow.
Earlier younger Northamptonshire fast Raphy Weatherall once more spearheaded a spirited fightback, selecting up three Kent wickets in 10 balls, together with England opener Zak Crawley (31) who fell to a different unfastened shot.
Crawley and Ben Compton made batting look simple in a half-century stand earlier than lunch, however Weatherall had his tail up after the interval and with the opposite bowlers maintaining the strain, Kent misplaced seven for 49 and rued a number of careless pictures which went straight to fielders. Joey Evison although mounted a decided fightback with 52.
Kent had made brief work of the Northamptonshire tail very first thing, taking the final three wickets and a primary innings lead off 88 because the hosts had been skittled for 143. Jas Singh who completed with profession finest figures of 4-35 ended Rob Keogh’s valiant resistance on 64, caught low at second slip.
Singh picked up his fourth when Dom Leech was trapped lbw, Grant Stewart wrapping up the innings when Liam Guthrie was caught down the legside.
With batting circumstances easing, Crawley and Compton went into lunch with Kent 61 with out loss and hopes of constructing a frightening goal.
Crawley regarded fluent, taking part in a fastidiously managed on drive off Luke Procter and taking benefit when Guthrie strayed, turning him off his legs and taking part in a silky drive by means of the covers. Compton in the meantime pulled Guthrie behind sq. and drove handsomely by means of additional cowl.
However it was a extra energised Northamptonshire that emerged after lunch, claiming three wickets in seven deliveries. Justin Broad struck first, eradicating Crawley who higher minimize straight to Saif Zaib at cowl.
Subsequent over Zaib took an excellent sharper catch at brief midwicket when Daniel Bell-Drummond clipped Weatherall firmly off his legs, whereas Tawanda Muyeye, prime scorer in Kent’s first innings, superior to the younger fast, falling over barely as he was adjudged lbw. Weatherall was denied the hat-trick when he drew the sting of Jack Leaning’s bat, the ball working simply huge of the slips.
Weatherall quickly had a 3rd scalp. Bowling across the wicket he despatched Compton’s off-stump cartwheeling, doubling his first-class wicket tally in two days.
The succession of Kent wickets continued, Leaning turned Guthrie off his legs, the ball flying to sub fielder Tiaan Louw on the backward square-leg boundary.
Evison performed a cultured on-drive to take Kent into three figures, however they misplaced a sixth wicket when a fired-up Leech snared Harry Finch lbw, adopted by Stewart who hooked Procter to midwicket.
Evison cast an enterprising 36-run partnership with Dudgeon to regain some momentum, earlier than the South African was caught behind off an tried minimize towards Zaib. The left-arm spinner then discovered some flip to entice Singh lbw. Evison lastly holed out smiting Leech powerfully to Zaib on the deep-midwicket boundary.
Kent’s bowlers made an ideal begin as Vasconcelos left a Dudgeon supply which jagged again and hit off-stump. Bartlett flashed Gilchrist over the slips for 2 boundaries and pulled Dudgeon over deep midwicket for six, however lived a charmed life, crushed outdoors off-stump and surviving a number of appeals and a nick by means of the slips.
On the different finish, Stewart gave Kent a much-needed breakthrough when he drew the sting of Procter’s bat earlier than he bowled Gross sales shouldering arms.
Bartlett was settling into his work now, however Dudgeon was decided to get the majority of the work carried out this night selecting up Zaib, Keogh and Lewis McManus, all caught by Leaning within the slips. To cap a horrible session for Northamptonshire, Broad was lbw to Gilchrist within the last over, the third batter to shoulder arms.
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