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The Independent
6 days ago
- Entertainment
- The Independent
Kent beat holders Gloucestershire in Blast thriller as Somerset see off Surrey
Zak Crawley played his part in an explosive Kent batting display which was enough to ensure Gloucestershire started the defence of their Vitality Blast crown with a four-run loss. Crawley smashed four maximums in a rapid 37 from 17 balls while Daniel Bell-Drummond top-scored for hosts Kent with 60 in an imposing total of 208 for three in Canterbury. It proved too much for Gloucestershire but only just as late hitting by Ben Charlesworth (38) revived their hopes before two for 22 by Tom Rogers made sure the champions got their South Group campaign under way with a defeat after being restricted to 204 for seven. Somerset won a repeat of last year's semi-final with Surrey despite a fine innings of 92 by former England opener Jason Roy. Roy, who last played for his country in 2023, scorched a scintillating 92, but received little support as Surrey limped to 146 for nine. Overseas pace duo Matt Henry and Riley Meredith claimed three-wicket hauls for 2024 runners-up Somerset, who won by five wickets with 13 balls to spare after Will Smeed led the way at the top of the order with 35. Liam Dawson had Essex in a spin to help Hampshire record a thumping 106-run victory at Ageas Bowl. James Vince (62) was one of three Hampshire batters to pass fifty and it helped his team post a mammoth 230 for seven. Michael Pepper struck 51 for Essex before falling to Dawson, who finished with four for 26 after recently being recalled to the England set-up. Birmingham Bears topped North Group last year but started this season with a seven-wicket loss to Nottinghamshire in a high-scoring encounter. Sam Hain's unbeaten 92 proved the bedrock of Bears' 226 for five, but he was outclassed at Trent Bridge by Jack Haynes. Haynes blitzed 89 not out from 41 balls, with 11 fours and three sixes, to lead Nottinghamshire home in the final over. A superb individual display by David Willey inspired Northamptonshire to a 13-run victory over former club Yorkshire in another run fest. Northamptonshire captain Willey struck 54 and along with Justin Broad's 67 it helped the away side make 237 for four at Headingley. Both James Wharton and Will Sutherland hit 58 for Yorkshire, but three for 42 for Willey made sure his new team fought back to limit the hosts to 224 for nine. Shan Masood guided Leicestershire to a five-wicket triumph over Derbyshire with 45 not out. Derbyshire made 170 for six, but were indebted to 70 down the order from Martin Andersson after three for 37 from Logan van Been had them reeling on 51 for five. A mature innings from Pakistan captain Masood endured Leicestershire chased their target with minimal fuss with Pat Brown, who earned an England Lions recall last winter, smashed for 47 off his 2.4 overs.
BBC News
18-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Glos take control as they eye long-awaited home win
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (day three)Kent 424: Stewart 182; Singh Dale 7-110; & 135-4: Compton 35Gloucestershire 516: Green 128, Bracey 127, T Price 76; Ball 3-132; Gilchrist 3-141Kent (6 pts) lead Glos (8 pts) by 43 runsMatch scorecard Gloucestershire called the shots on day three of the County Championship match against Kent at the Seat Unique Stadium to raise the prospect of a first home win in three home side posted 516 to establish a useful first-innings lead of 92 courtesy of hundreds from Cameron Green and James Bracey, who scored 128 and 127 respectively and staged a fifth wicket stand of 222 in 54 overs. Nathan Gilchrist took 3-141 and Jake Ball 3-132 as Kent fought to stay in the game, but Tom Price hit 76 to give Gloucestershire a potentially crucial to show resilience in the face of pressure, Kent were undone by seam on a batter-friendly track, losing openers Harry Finch and Ben Compton, captain Daniel Bell-Drummond and Tawanda Muyeye as they subsided to 98-4 in the late-afternoon Bristol sunshine. Jack Leaning and Chris Benjamin dug in to advance the score to 135-4 by the close, but the visitors are just 43 runs ahead and face an uphill task if they are to save the game on the final failed to win any of their last 15 home matches since defeating Warwickshire at Bristol in September 2022, Gloucestershire will feel they have a genuine opportunity to register their first win of the hopes of establishing a first-innings lead were dependent upon the new ball, which was taken in the second over of the day. Charged with the task of taking early wickets, Gilchrist and Ball failed to take advantage, sending down too many four balls and enabling Gloucestershire's fifth wicket pair to come flying out of the Gilchrist fell short of a length, Green punished him, carving two consecutive deliveries through the covers for four, while Ball suffered a similar fate when allowing the Australian width outside off stump. Not to be outdone, Bracey twice drove Ball handsomely through the covers, pulled Gilchrist for another four in the next over and then crunched the same bowler backward of square to raise the 200 partnership in exactly 50 guided a ball from Gilchrist to the third man boundary to secure a third batting bonus point for Gloucestershire, who added 54 in the first eight overs of a high-octane morning session. But the Australian succumbed to Gilchrist when feathering a catch behind and departing for a brilliant 128, much to the relief of the visiting team. The 25-year-old Australia Test star had faced 184 balls, struck 17 fours and a six and propelled the hosts into a strong Stewart then removed Graeme van Buuren lbw without scoring as Kent made further inroads, but there was no stopping the indefatigable Bracey, who went to his fifteenth career first-class hundred and his second of the season from 176 deliveries, flicking Kashir Ali off his legs for a single before raising his bat in the rate of scoring slowed following Green's departure, Bracey and Tom Price still raised a 50 partnership from 86 balls, accelerating at the right time in their pursuit of maximum bonus points. The seventh wicket pair had wiped out the arrears and were in credit by the time Bracey skied a catch to mid-on off the bowling of Ball and departed for 127, his superb innings spanning 192 balls and including 17 fours and a six. Zaman Akhter hit Gilchrist straight to mid-off, but Price was on 35 not out, his highest score of the season, when lunch was taken with the home side 438-8, a slender lead of 14 Shaw pulled Gilchrist to deep mid-wicket and ran two as Gloucestershire secured a fifth batting bonus point by the skin of their teeth off the final ball of the 110th over, while Price raised his first half century of the season from 88 balls with his seventh four as the home side looked to forge a meaningful lead. As the pitch flattened out even more and the ball softened, so Price began to force the issue, raising a notable 76 from 120 deliveries with 11 fours before falling lbw to Kashif. Ajeet Singh Dale fell in identical fashion to the Pakistan international, leaving Shaw unbeaten on 34 made from 45 openers Finch and Compton set their sights on seeing off the new ball and reaching tea with their wickets intact, and they almost succeeded. Gloucestershire required a breakthrough if they were to exert real pressure and Singh Dale obliged, producing late swing to pin Finch lbw in his crease for 23 in the final over before the interval with the score on by 55 runs at the start of the final session, the visitors had work to do. Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond staged a defiant stand of 48 in 13.3 overs, saw off the dangerous Singh Dale and looked to have done the hard work, only for the former to edge a fullish delivery from Shaw to Cameron Bancroft at second slip and fall for 35. When Bell-Drummond offered Tom Price a return catch in the act of driving in the very next over, Kent were 89-3, still three runs were a mere six runs to the good when Akhter angled a delivery into Muyeye, who was given out lbw, at which point the visitors had surrendered three wickets in five overs. Thereafter, Leaning and Benjamin safely negotiated 14 overs of seam to reach the close unbeaten on 15 and 17 behalf of ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay
Telegraph
18-05-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
More cricket should be played at out-grounds like Fenner's
Refreshingly, the groundsman did not decide to bring the boundaries in close simply because it was women's cricket, and nor was it needed. Kent happily piled on the runs in the first innings after being put in to bat, hitting 192 for three from their 20 overs, winning by 80 runs in the end. Although it is worth noting that the young Cambridgeshire side conceded 22 extras, including 17 wides. But the context cannot be forgotten. Cambridgeshire were given just £30,000 funding from the ECB this year, and for taking part in this competition they had to comply with professional regulations. At a cost to the county new helmets had to be issued because in this tournament, stem guards to protect the neck are mandatory. There is also a requirement for two 'super soppers' to soak up water, which one national county had to rent at a reported cost of more than £600 per day. It is a far cry from the millions put into the game at the higher levels, and the realities can hit hard. But for those on the field, the new competition is exciting and offers the opportunity to impress. 'It's been a pretty cool experience to play,' Cambridge's Jess Pugh told Telegraph Sport sitting on the outfield after close of play. 'To get the experience to play Kent, I mean the result didn't go our way but it's a great opportunity to see where we are compared to them.' At this level, there are realities the professional sides do not have to deal with. When asked about their trip to Northumberland in the previous round, Pugh, who has only just turned 18, said: 'We struggled a bit with availability because of obviously how young our team is. 'Some people are mid-exam season, so they're not going to be able to get it off.' Laura Robinson, her team-mate, who sometimes has to take annual leave from her job to play matches, added: 'It makes it easier now that Cambridge are actually paying for those facilities like hotels and contributing to travel. That makes it a lot easier on our part to play those away games and again, play against different types of cricket.' There are certainly far worse ways to spend an afternoon than sitting and watching cricket at a historic ground that was leased to the University in 1848 for the purpose of playing cricket, and which hosted its first first-class match the same year. I came away with no doubt that more matches should be played on grounds like this one.
BBC News
16-05-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Stewart century gets Kent back on track against Glos
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol (day one)Kent 386-6: Stewart 173*, Benjamin 82*; Singh Dale 4-97Gloucestershire: Yet to batGlos 1 pt, Kent 3 ptsMatch scorecard Grant Stewart posted a brilliant hundred to inspire a notable Kent fightback on the opening day of the County Championship match against Gloucestershire at the Seat Unique Stadium in backs firmly against the wall after being reduced to 137-6, the visitors were indebted to the seventh wicket pair of Stewart and Chris Benjamin, who staged a revitalising unbeaten stand of 249 in 56 overs to rescue a parlous situation. Stewart registered a career-best score of 173 not out from 174 balls with 19 fours and 5 sixes, while Benjamin contributed a cautious yet chanceless 82 not out, as Kent reached the close on and Benjamin made history in the Bristol sunshine, establishing a record seventh wicket stand in all matches for Kent, eclipsing the 248 scored by Arthur Day and Punter Humphreys against Somerset at Taunton in 1908. It was a remarkable turnaround in fortunes after Gloucestershire's bowlers had dominated the first few hours, Ajeet Singh Dale claiming 4-97 and Tom Price and Josh Shaw weighing in with a wicket apiece to justify captain Cameron Bancroft's decision to bowl a solid start, Kent achieved exactly the opposite, Harry Finch pursuing Shaw's second delivery of the day outside leg stump, offering a tame catch to James Bracey behind the stumps and departing for one. That set the tone, Tom Price sending down four maidens in five overs that yielded just one run as Ben Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond fought to see off the new resistance quickly crumbled in the face of a fiery spell from Singh Dale, who generated impressive pace to remove both in the space of seven balls from the Ashley Down Road end. Bell-Drummond miscued an attempted drive and spooned a catch to mid-on, while Compton, having taken 19 balls to get off the mark and demonstrated no little application in moving his score to 19, drove loosely at a delivery that pitched outside off stump and was pouched by the diving Bracey as Kent slipped to Leaning never looked comfortable, was squared up by Singh Dale and sent a looping catch to Cameron Bancroft at second slip, at which point Singh Dale boasted figures of 3-22 from five overs. The only one of Kent's top-order batsmen to play with any authority, Tawanda Muyeye raised 25 before edging a ball that nipped off the seam to the reliable Bancroft at second slip, affording Tom Price the wicket his accuracy deserved. In urgent need of a stabilising influence, the visitors were grateful to Benjamin and Jaydn Denly, who ensured they reached lunch without further loss on to play positively, England Under-19 batsman Denly helped himself to a sumptuous cover-driven four at the expense of Tom Price to signal a change in momentum as Kent's first innings realised three figures in the 33rd over. Failing to maintain the tight lines that had characterised their work in the morning, Gloucestershire's seamers were powerless to prevent the sixth wicket pair adding 63 in 15.3 Dale returned to break the partnership, beating Denly for pace with a ball that ricocheted off bat and pad and hit the top of off stump. Denly had mustered 39 from 51 balls and was two runs adrift of his highest first-class score when he departed with the board on Singh Dale's second spell, Benjamin and Stewart found the going easier thereafter as the pitch flattened out and the shine disappeared off the ball. Adopting a forthright approach from the outset, Stewart was prepared to take risks and looked to get on the front foot and drive whenever possible. He was first to 50, attaining that landmark via 51 balls as Kent passed 200. The Australian pulled Graeme van Buuren for six to add to his half dozen fours as the visitors reached the tea interval on a relatively healthy 225-6 at the end of a session that had yielded 140 runs for the loss of just one raised a half century of his own, carefully crafted from 129 balls, as the seventh wicket alliance continued to prosper into the final session. The hundred partnership occupied 177 balls, at which point Bancroft recalled the talismanic Singh Dale. Although he went past the bat on several occasions, the 24-year-old paceman was unable to provide the breakthrough Gloucestershire off his legs, Stewart positively rushed to the second first-class hundred of his career, edging Zaman Akhter to the fine leg boundary to raise three figures via 120 balls with his twelfth four. He hooked the next ball to deep mid-wicket and was caught by Tom Price, only for the unbalanced fielder to step over the rope and concede a six, an act which helped Stewart improve upon his previous highest score of 103 made against Middlesex at Canterbury in took the new ball as soon as it became available, but were unable to curtail Stewart's lusty hitting, the 31-year-old by now scoring at better than a run a ball to progress to his maiden 150 from 152 deliveries as Kent reached the close resurgent. ECB Reporters' Network supported by Rothesay
BBC News
14-04-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
Kent seamer Dudgeon out for season with knee injury
Kent have confirmed South African pace bowler Keith Dudgeon has been ruled out for the rest of the domestic season through 29-year-old sustained a knee injury in training before Kent's eight-wicket victory against Middlesex and will return to South Africa to receive treatment."Kent Cricket can confirm that following scans and advice from specialists, Keith Dudgeon's knee injury sustained in training last week has cut short his time as a Kent cricketer this summer," said a statement on the club website, produced career-best figures of 7-36 to wrap up Kent's emphatic victory over Northamptonshire on his debut last the match, new Kent coach Adam Hollioake said Dudgeon was "a great signing", adding: "What an impact – it's a dream start to his Kent career." In March, Dudgeon signed for Kent alongside Pakistan Test bowler Kashif Ali for the 2025 season."I'm absolutely gutted for my time at Kent to come to a close so quickly," Dudgeon added in a personal statement."I've loved everyone at the club from the playing staff, coaching staff all the way to the members and supporters."I really hope to stay strong and fit as soon as possible, and when that time comes, hopefully I get the opportunity to represent this great club again in the future."Following their second win of the season against Middlesex, which was wrapped up within three days, Kent currently sit top of the County Championship division two standings.
