Kent v Worcestershire Day 2: LIVE!

Kent 238 all out, and 197-3 Worcestershire 217.

Kent reached 197 for three at stumps on day two of their potentially pivotal Rothesay County Championship match with Worcestershire at Canterbury.

With both sides vying for promotion from Division Two, the hosts have ground out a significant lead of 218, with seven second innings wickets remaining. Sam Northeast was their top scorer with 96 not out while England’s Zak Crawley scored his third half-century in his last five innings, making 54.

Earlier Worcestershire were shot out for 217, with Bangladesh test star Hasan Mahmud taking four for 68 and Matt Milnes three for 52. Daniel Lategan and Adam Hose were their top scorers with 59 and 50 respectively.

Worcestershire began day two on 80 for two and they prospered for over an hour before Lategan left one to Milnes and lost his off stump.

Grant Stewart replaced Milnes at the Pavilion End and got Brett D’Oliveira for seven with his first ball, when he slashed to Tawanda Muyeye at third, but in the same over he also found Henry Cullen’s edge and Keith Dudgeon couldn’t hold on to a tough chance at fourth.

Dudgeon atoned in the next over, getting Hose caught behind, before he trapped Cullen lbw with one that looked like it was going down.

Tom Taylor and Matthew Waite put on a mini-partnership to make it 180 for six at lunch, but both went early in the afternoon session. Hasan bent back Waite’s middle stump and Milnes had Taylor caught behind four balls later.

Ben Allison mowed Milnes for six to bring up the 200, but Beyers Swanepoel then sliced Milnes to Dudgeon at point for six and Hasan had Adam Finch lbw to conclude the innings.

Kent’s second innings began badly when Ben Compton uncharacteristically drove Taylor to Lategan at point for a duck, but Crawley and Northeast took them to 51-1 at tea.

Crawley, however, got bogged down after passing 50 and was eventually caught behind trying to hook Finch.

Unusually there was a short run, when Tawanda Muyeye didn’t make his ground on what should have been an easy two for Northeast, but Northeast crunched the next ball for four to pass 50.

Swanepoel had Muyeye caught at first by Allison for 23 and Northeast survived a strong lbw shout from Allison in the third over before the close, but he then brought up his 50 partnership with Daniel Bell-Drummond when he drove Allison for four off the fourth ball of the final over.

That took Northeast to within four of his ton and temptation very nearly got the better of him when he went for a yahoo off the final ball of the day and just about got away with it.

Kent’s Matt Milnes said: “I think we've probably had the better of the day there. I think the way the five seamers actually operated together all day was pretty cool. I think we just operated in partnerships and we've spoken about that a lot this year.

“Hasan obviously brings something special to our attack, so it's a lovely bonus having him back. But obviously the other guys all played their part and Quinny didn't get a pole, but bowled beautifully and held them one end, while the pole was going near the other end. The way I think Dudgeon and Grant bowled just before lunch was what sort of ripped the heart out of their middle order a little bit.

“It was a brilliant day with the ball and then obviously not the easiest wicket to bat on, feel like there's always a ball in it. But the way Zak and Sammy played there, that partnership was fantastic and Sammy to obviously go on a little bit more and hopefully go on some more tomorrow. Yeah, he played beautifully.

“I thought we probably wanted to make use of that first half an hour maybe, but we spoke in the morning, we knew we were very capable of holding the game and making that 100, 150 run deficit, whatever it was, last a really long time.

“We got our fields right this morning as well, I think, where last night we may have chased slightly. But yeah, we held the game and put the balls in the right area and we knew that when we did that on that wicket for a period of time, we knew it would fall in clusters and that's what happened in the second hour of the day.”

(On bowling with Hasan Mahmud)

“I think his hits the stumps slightly harder than mine! But yeah, as I said, he just brings that X-factor. He can bowl good pace, his action's a little bit different, tricky to pick up and he's a top, top bowler. So, as I said, we're very, very lucky to have him and he just brings that slightly different dynamic to our attack. Rather he be in my side than be against him.”

(On being back at Kent with Sam Northeast) 

“Yeah, it's very enjoyable. I've really enjoyed Sammy as well. I knew him a little bit before, but not a huge amount.

“What he brings to the team is fantastic. He's a top, top batter, but I think also the way he reads the game and the experience he brings alongside his batting is invaluable really. It’s great to have him on board again.”

Worcestershire’s Adam Hose said: “I suppose we'd be pretty disappointed to lose a cluster of wickets after me and Dan worked quite hard for a period of time, but I do feel like it's one of those wickets, especially sort of that early on in this morning where you do have to work hard but you get through those periods and runs seem a little bit easier.

“So I think looking back on our innings we will be disappointed that we didn't get up to level with them and maybe just a bit more, but that's gone now and with the ball I thought we could easily have had a couple more wickets.

“What are they, 200 ahead now, three down. I think easily could have been halfway, maybe even six with a couple of decisions and a lot of plays and misses. It's one of those things, cricket works in funny ways and hopefully we come out tomorrow morning and we get our rewards but overall I'd say it's been a pretty frustrating day.”

Kent 198-3.

That's it for the day. Northeast survived a strong lbw shout from Allison in the third last over before stumps and goes for a huge yahoo off the last ball when he's on 96.

Report and reaction to follow.

Kent have consistently scored at three an over and have ground their way to a lead of 200. Worcestershire have spread the field and the boundaries haven't flowed at any point, but in the worst case scenario, Kent will have something to defend on day three.

Kent 151-3. Northeast takes three from Finch to bring up the 150. There have been a lot of threes today due to the slow outfield. DBD off the mark with a single from the tenth ball he faced.

Muyeye c Allison b Swanepoel 23. Kent 144-3.

Muyeye out, got a leading edge. Came out of nothing really he hadn't looked in any real difficulty until that point. Daniel Bell-Drummond is in.

It's a lot calmer here than it is at The Oval where 20 wickets have fallen in the session. They picked the wrong week to put the groundsman on gardening leave. Festivals have been killed for less than this.

Kent 132-2. There's a ball change, usually a sign things are going the batting side's way.

Very unusually there's a run short - what should have been an easy two, is only a single as one of the batters didn't reach the crease, probably Muyeye as it was given by the square leg ump.

Northeast then cover drives Taylor for four to bring up his half-century.

Two additional inclusions for the Kent Celebrity XI: the late Charlie Watts and the DJ Gideon Coe.

Kent 112-2. Beyers Swanepoel bowls seven dots. Scoring is proving really difficult here, even with extra deliveries to face.

Kent 112-2. Someone who looks a lot like the comedian Mark Steele is in the house. It turns out it is in fact Mark Steele, who would definitely feature in the Celebrity Kent fan XI, alongside Tim Rice, Peter Drury and the late Brian Moore.

... first ball to Muyeye is a full toss which he carves for four.

Crawley c Cullen b Finch 54. Kent 99-2. This was the calmest phase of the match, which wasn't saying much but was beneficial for Kent. It was far from easy, the ball was beating the bat, and Crawley survived an appeal for one off his pad, but scoring was difficult and he seemed to get bogged down. Eventually he couldn't resist trying to hook Finch.

This partnership was worth 88. Tawanda Muyeye is now in.

Kent 86-1.

There's a shout of "Siiiidaaaaaahn" after a rejected appeal, coming from the direction of the Ames. The lead is now into three figures. Waite bowls a dreadful long hop and Northeast is so surprised he hits it straight towards a fielder in the covers, when a boundary was beckoning.

Crawley pushes Swanepoel for two up the hill to complete a half-century.

Kent 63-1. Crawley flicks Waite through square leg for four to bring up a fifty stand - there haven't been too many of those in this game. Very bright now and the lights are still on. We're slightly delayed by a gentleman with a vast girth strolling by the sightscreen. Northeast then survives a decent lbw shout from Swanepoel, looked like it was nipping back.