Bell-Drummond gives Kent victory chance at Middlesex

BBC News

04-05-2025

Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Lord's (day three)Kent 129 & 473: Bell-Drummond 223, Crawley 68; Roland-Jones 3-107Middlesex 238 & 81-3: Holden 38; Evison 2-32Middlesex (3 pts) require 284 more runs to beat Kent (3 pts) with seven wickets remainingMatch scorecard
Daniel Bell-Drummond's second highest score in first-class cricket allowed Kent to take charge of their County Championship Division Two clash with Middlesex on day three at Lord's.The 31-year-old Kent skipper, took his overnight 103 not out to 223 as the visitors piled up 473 all out.Jamal Richards (43), Joey Evison (35) and Chris Benjamin (34) all shared half-century stands with the right-hander as the Middlesex bowlers were ground into the dirt, Toby-Roland-Jones taking 3-107 for match figures of 8-140.Left to better a record fourth innings winning score against Kent harping back more than 100 years to the days of the legendary Patsy Hendren, Middlesex stumbled to 81-3 at stumps, two wickets for Evison.With the visitors already 117 ahead, Middlesex needed early wickets and they weren't without opportunities. After edging a four to the vacant third, Bell-Drummond was rapped on the pad by Dane Paterson, moving swiftly leg-side of the wicket as the home side's pleads for lbw were not upheld.If that was unlucky Middlesex's next wound was self-inflicted, Ryan Higgins failing to cling on to Evison's slash to gully before the batter had added to his overnight score. The drop proved costly as by the time Henry Brookes held a caught and bowled at the second grab, the all-rounder, helped by a towering six back over the head of spinner Zafar Gohar had added 62 with Bell-Drummond.Any hope the new ball would bring further reward soon evaporated, a Bell-Drummond edge wide of a diving second slip the closest they came to another breakthrough.That scare survived, Bell-Drummond, whose highest first-class score of 300 not out came two summers ago against Northamptonshire at Wantage Road, crunched a lovely on-drive to the fence at mid-on before his 21st four, a cut behind point took him past 150 on the stroke of lunch.Upon the resumption, Bell-Drummond was becalmed, only adding a single boundary in the afternoon session. Wicketkeeper Benjamin though played positively, four boundaries helping him to 34 out of a stand of 74 before Higgins snuck one between bat and pad to trim the bails.Debutant Richards came out on a pair and was given a life on four, Ben Geddes failing to cling on to a low catch at second slip.As with Evison earlier, Richards made Middlesex pay, a thunderous straight drive the pick of his five fours in an entertaining 43 ended when he was harshly adjudged leg before to a ball from Gohar which appeared to strike him outside leg stump.Bell-Drummond continued on, marshalling the tail, to the point of refusing singles to protect George Garrett, even though the lead was beyond 300.A tickled single to square leg took him to 200, after which he smote three huge sixes before being last man out caught at third.The target of 365 was exactly 50 more than Middlesex's previous best successful fourth-innings chase against Kent, a total of 315-5 made at Lord's in 1921.The gargantuan task was made more difficult when Sam Robson was bowled by a beauty from Garrett with only nine on the board.Max Holden flourished briefly in a stand of 53 for the second wicket with the obdurate Stephen Eskinazi, but Evison flattened his off-stump, before having nightwatchman Brookes caught a slip by Zak Crawley to leave the hosts in the mire.ECB Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay