Result- Match drawn Durham– 335 & 218/9 dec Kent– 197 & 234/5
Durham claimed five final day wickets with some probing bowling but a defiant unbeaten century from Tawanda Muyeye handed Kent a draw on the final day of an enthralling Rothesay County Championship clash between the two.
At the start of the day, it was Durham in the ascendency, but Kent struck back as the hosts lost five wickets in the first hour. However, Ben Raine led a recovery from the lower order, and Durham managed to set Kent a target of 357 after they declared on 218 for nine.
Kent’s chase got off to a poor start, but a partnership of 124 between Muyeye and Daniel Bell-Drummond steadied the ship, yet there was another twist as a double blow handed Durham renewed hope of a win.
However, Muyeye and Chris Benjamin held on to secure their side a draw, as Kent closed on 234 for five.
After no play on day three, Durham pair Ben McKinney and David Bedingham resumed for their side on 83 for two, a lead of 221.
Matt Milnes struck early for Kent, as he dislodged McKinney’s off-stump meaning the opener had to depart for 38.
Graham Clark then departed for three, handing Glenton Stuurman a wicket, as a leading edge flew to Ben Compton at point. Colin Ackermann was then caught behind off the bowling of Keith Dudgeon for one just moments later.
South African Bedingham was dismissed soon after, as Milnes struck again, bowling Durham’s talisman for a well-made 48.
Dudgeon struck again, with Ollie Robinson his next victim for four after he chipped one to Muyeye in the covers.
Raine managed to relieve some of the pressure on Durham by thrashing a Dudgeon delivery to the legside boundary.
Kasey Aldridge then played a lovely drive through the covers, but Grant Stewart bowled Aldridge for a handy 18, dislodging his middle stump.
Raine continued to play nicely and Matthew Potts joined in, smashing a Joey Evison ball down the ground for six, but Raine was then bowled by Evison for a vital 43.
Durham then declared at lunch, with the score sitting at 218 for nine declared, setting Kent a target of 357.
Crawley and Ben Compton opened the batting for Kent after lunch, but Compton departed for eight as he edged a Roach delivery to Aldridge at second slip.
Crawley resumed his battle with England teammate Potts and played a delightful shot through the covers for four.
However, Potts then got Crawley for the second time in the match, with the England opener LBW for 20.
Raine then backed that up with the vital wicket of Northeast for 10, as he sent the Kent man’s stumps flying.
Durham very nearly had a fourth Kent wicket as Bell-Drummond edged an Aldridge delivery on four, but the diving Emilio Gay couldn’t cling on.
Another chance was missed shortly after, with Muyeye driving one to Alex Lees at cover, but the Durham skipper couldn’t cling on to a tricky chance with the batter on nine.
The pair then took the sting out the game for Kent, with Muyeye playing some glorious shots including one through the covers off Roach.
Muyeye continued his vital knock for Kent with a boundary from the first ball after tea and he reached his fifty from 62 deliveries. Muyeye then hit a four on the legside to bring up the 100 partnership.
However, a double blow sparked the game back into life after the game was seemingly petering out, with Bell-Drummond edging a Potts ball to Aldridge and Evison then fell for a duck, LBW to Raine.
Muyeye remained though, much to Durham’s frustration, and he and Benjamin remained solid in defence.
Muyeye then made it to the 90’s and had a nervy moment when an airborne shot landed in between three Durham fielders, but he reached his century from 116 balls.
The two sides then shook hands with nine overs remaining.
Durham– 335 all out (77.4) & 83/2 (22), Kent– 197 all out (55.2) Bonus points: Durham- 5 Kent- 3
Durham Cricket issued a statement this morning informing spectators that they weren’t able to attend due to the damage to the ground.
The ground then reopened to the public later in the day, but prospects of play continued to dwindle due to a wet area on the pitch after one of the covers blew off overnight.
The current match scenario sees Durham in the ascendency as they closed on 83 for two on day two, a lead of 221 runs.
David Bedingham and Ben McKinney were playing nicely for the hosts as they made it to 32* and 27* respectively and will resume at the crease on day four.
Ben Raine became the fifth bowler to reach 300 first-class wickets for Durham as Ryan Campbell’s bowlers blew away Kent’s batting line-up on a rain-affected second day of their Rothesay County Championship clash.
It was Durham’s day as Potts and Kemar Roach picked up three wickets apiece to restrict Kent to 197 all out, a first innings deficit of 138 for the visitors, despite the best efforts of Sam Northeast who fell six short of a century on his return to the county.
Kent’s bowlers struck back with a couple of early wickets, but Durham reasserted their dominance in their second innings and finished the day on 83 for two, leading by 221.
Resuming on 50 for two under gloomy skies at Chester-le-Street, Kent pair Tawanda Muyeye and Northeast had a challenging opening period to see out.
Northeast hit the first ball of the day through third region to the boundary and he picked up another as he cut a Potts short ball for four.
Ben Raine then picked up his first scalp of the season, pinning Muyeye in front of his stumps to get him LBW for 10.
Daniel Bell-Drummond then fell for a four-ball duck, as he edged Raine to Kasey Aldridge in the slips, which handed Raine his 300th First Class wicket for Durham – joining Steve Harmison, Graham Onions, Chris Rushworth and Simon Brown in reaching that feat.
A third wicket fell in quick succession, as the impressive Potts found a bit of extra bounce and Joey Evison feathered one through to Ollie Robinson for two.
Northeast plundered a Roach delivery down the ground for four and he then reached a fifty on his Kent return, with it coming from 94 balls.
However, his support cast kept on tumbling with Chris Benjamin departing for 19 to hand Aldridge a maiden First Class wicket for Durham after he drove one straight to Raine at cover.
The players then went off as the rain came, with it halting Durham’s charge for wickets, much to the relief of Kent, and an early lunch was taken.
The players returned under the lights for the afternoon session, and Kent will have wished the rain stayed as Aldridge sent Grant Stewart’s middle stump flying for one straight after the break.
Durham had a chance to snatch an eighth wicket as Potts forced an outside edge from Matt Milnes, but Emilio Gay dropped one at second slip.
Bad light then intervened for a short period, but they were back out quickly and Potts got his third as Milnes was caught behind for eight.
Keith Dudgeon joined Northeast at the crease and helped Kent avoid the follow-on, and the latter played a beautiful shot off his legs that went to the boundary.
However, Dudgeon’s cameo of 22 came to an end at the hands of Roach, as he was caught behind, with Robinson producing an excellent diving effort after the South African edged a delivery.
Northeast’s defiance continued as he moved into the 90’s, but Roach got his third as Northeast’s excellent knock came to an end, with the West Indies international picking up the final wicket when the Kent man edged behind to Robinson for 94.
The rain then returned just as Durham were about to start their second innings with a 138 first innings lead, but they resumed after an early tea.
Alex Lees and Ben McKinney started Durham’s innings and Glenton Stuurman removed the Durham man for six, as he found the opener’s off-stump.
First innings centurion Gay then fell for 11, as he clipped a Dudgeon ball to Muyeye at leg slip who made no mistake with the catch.
McKinney, who initially found life difficult against Stuurman and Dudgeon, started to find his groove, with a couple of lovely shots through the offside.
Durham’s lead passed 200 as McKinney and David Bedingham looked to be positive at the crease.
Play then came to an abrupt halt due to bad light, with Durham 83 for two, a lead of 221.
Emilio Gay made the first century of the Rothesay County Championship season as Durham edged ahead of Kent on a closely contested first day of their Division Two clash.
Gay was fluent and positive in a chanceless century, his 11th in First Class cricket, on a day when his teammates struggled to cope with Kent’s impressive overseas duo, Glenton Stuurman and Keith Dudgeon.
Durham were bowled out for 335, with Dudgeon picking up four scalps and Stuurman three on his Kent debut.
Kent’s reply got off to a bad start, with England’s Zak Crawley dismissed cheaply, and they finished the day on 50 for two, trailing by 285 runs.
Durham were put into bat by Kent under the lights on an overcast Good Friday and the visitors made an excellent start as Stuurman got Ben McKinney LBW for eight.
After the early loss skipper Alex Lees looked to carefully accumulate while in the crease. Gay then joined him and dispatched Joey Evison’s first ball, a full toss, to the legside boundary.
Lees continued to tick along nicely but South African Dudgeon removed the Durham captain for 29, with him edging to Crawley at first slip.
That brought Durham’s talisman David Bedingham to the crease and he got off the mark with a lovely four through the covers and he backed that up with a cut to the boundary from Dudgeon’s next ball.
However, Dudgeon struck back as he got one to nip away from Bedingham and the Durham man edged it straight to Crawley at slip for 12.
Gay continued to look in good touch and passed fifty before lunch from 68 balls. Graham Clark at the opposite end then joined Gay in the boundary-scoring and their budding partnership passed 100.
Gay continued to find the boundary with ease, hitting back-to-back boundaries from an Evison over.
Clark then departed for 34, edging a Stuurman delivery to Crawley at first slip, but Gay then became the first County Championship centurion of the summer, notching up the milestone from 111 balls.
His partners kept on falling though as Stuurman picked up his third when Colin Ackermann went for six after he inside edged one on to his pads, which rolled on to his stumps.
Gay then fell for an excellent 128 as he edged a Grant Stewart delivery to Crawley who took his fourth catch of the day at slip.
Stewart struck for a second time in quick succession on the stroke of tea, as he got Ollie Robinson LBW for 15, with the Durham keeper offering no shot to one that hit him on the pads.
Kasey Aldridge and Ben Raine resumed for Durham after tea, with the lower order pair adopting a more watchful manner at the crease as they took Durham to a first batting point.
Aldridge played a glorious straight drive for four to tick the scoreboard over, however, Raine then fell for 19 as he chased a Dudgeon ball down the legside straight into the hands of Chris Benjamin.
Dudgeon got his fourth soon after as he got Matthew Potts LBW for one, but Durham managed to get past the 300 mark and accrued a second batting bonus point.
Durham’s final wicket pair frustrated Kent, with Aldridge picking up runs and rotating the strike with fellow red ball debutant Kemar Roach, as they put on 45 together, with Stewart claiming the final wicket after Roach was caught in the slips for 21.
Durham then made a dream start with the ball, as Roach got Ben Compton LBW for four in the first over of Kent’s reply.
England opener Crawley then got off the mark, but he was soon out as Potts got him LBW for nine. Potts nearly had a second after McKinney dropped Tawanda Muyeye on none at first slip.
Sam Northeast and Muyeye saw Kent through to close, with their side 50 for two.