MATCH REPORT: Kent close in on target after Lancs fight back
Lancashire produced a battling performance to take this Vitality County Championship match into a fourth day, with Kent 71 for one in their second innings by the close and needing a further 93 runs to win.
It was a marked improvement by the Red Rose side as they fought back well on an intense and absorbing day at Emirates Old Trafford.
Half centuries by George Bell and Matty Hurst, plus good contributions from George Balderson and Tom Hartley helped Lancashire score 332 in their second innings as the Kent attack found the going much tougher on this third day as conditions eased in the Manchester sunshine.
Setting off in pursuit of their 164 target, the visitors lost Zak Crawley lbw for 1 in the second over to the first delivery from Balderson, entrusted with the new ball from the James Anderson end, to set Kent nerves jangling.
A fifty partnership between Ben Compton (14 not out) and Daniel Bell-Drummond (39 not out) settled the innings down, although the pair survived a number of close calls before safely reaching stumps.
Resuming their second innings on 119 for four this morning, the prospect of Lancashire batting for most of the third day seemed to have been quickly diminished when Tom Bruce was bowled for 12 by Wes Agar in the third over of the morning.
Three fifty plus partnerships steadily brought the hosts back into a game that had appeared to be slipping away the night before.
The first, a resilient and patient partnership of 75 between Balderson and Bell revived the innings, with the pair initially wiping out Kent’s lead when their alliance reached 50 from 13 overs after an hour’s play.
Bell survived a dropped catch at slip by Crawley off Matt Parkinson when on 25, but Bell-Drummond snared a good, low, catch at short gully off part-time spinner Jack Leaning in the following over to end Balderson's fine effort at 48.
Hurst and Bell dug in to reach lunch on 224 for six with a lead of 55 and they batted with great determination in an attritional passage of play after the break to steadily build the lead.
Bell reached his half century from 113 balls when pulling his fifth four off occasional spinner Joe Denly with the fifty partnership arriving one delivery later from 132 balls.
It took a rising delivery from Agar, armed with the harder new ball, to dislodge Bell via an edge behind for a splendid 65 just after the lead had passed 100.
But Hartley lent great support to Hurst in an eighth wicket partnership of 54 either side of tea.
Hurst reached his third first-class half century from a very patient 134 balls that included just one boundary shortly before the break, but then edged a sharply-turning delivery from Parkinson to slip for 58, just after the resumption to be the eighth wicket to fall.
Bailey was lbw to Agar (three for 65) for 1 and Hartley last out sweeping at Parkinson (three for 70) for a nicely constructed 35 to leave Kent chasing a potentially tricky target.
But the visitors chipped away at their target successfully to put themselves in a great position to clinch a first victory of the season tomorrow.
George Bell believes this game is not a done deal yet.
“At the start of day, the challenge was for everyone to bat for at least an hour, try and get through as long as we can,” he said. “We knew if we could achieve that we would have got through the whole day.
“We didn’t quite get through all of it. It would have been nice to have got a lead of 200 – that would have been a good score. We’ve given ourselves a fighting chance with 164, and although they are 70-1 now, we’ve created quite a few chances.
“They need another 90-odd but with four men around the bat, hopefully we come back tomorrow and create more chances. Then anything could happen.
“The pitch is turning which is good news for us. Hopefully the wicket continues to break up a bit more and we can get a few wickets in the first session, get on a roll and once we do then get on top and bury them if we get the chance.
“Obviously it’s going to be tough but we’re backing our bowlers to do the job.”
Bell was pleased about the character shown today after a poor outing in the first innings.
“We’ve let ourselves down with the bat in the first innings again,” he said, “and we’re gutted about that.
“Today was about showing fight and getting back into the game. The next game we can try and do that straight away rather than it taking for us to get rolled over to do it.
“It showed we’ve got it in us to do that.
“It was nice that the young lads, me, Tommy, Hursty and Balders were batting for long periods. The young lads showed character which is what we pride ourselves on. Today was about showing a bit of grit.”
Ken Grime
Photos: George Franks, Dan Adams, Luke Adams
