152 by Joe Denly helped Kent recover from the loss of early wickets after being put in to bat by Glamorgan to reach 302 on the opening day of their final match in the Specsavers County Championship at Canterbury. Michael Hogan claimed 4/44 for the visitors before his side reached 18/1 at the close.
Day 1 Highlights
Evening update
Kent were 227/7 at tea with Denly on 115 and eager to secure further batting points for his team. Denly began with another crisply-driven shot through the covers against Smith whilst Adam Milne drove both Smith and Meschede to the ropes at extra-cover. Milne then savagely pulled Meschede for four to mid-wicket before Denly repeated the stroke against Smith to bring up their fifty stand.
Shortly afterwards, Milne survived a chance at deep backward square-leg but it did not prove too costly as four runs later the Kiwi edged Meschede to first slip where David Lloyd claimed another good low catch. Denly responded by harpooning Meschede to deep mid-wicket for six whilst Grant Stewart opened his account in first-class cricket by pulling Smith to the ropes followed by an on-drive for four.
Denly completed his 150 from 200 balls before Stewart saw his team to the 300 by off-driving Lloyd but the bowler struck with the last ball of the 80th over as he yorked Denly for 152. Eight balls later the innings ended as Imraan Qayyam edged to second slip to give Michael Hogan his fourth wicket of the innings and to take his first-class tally to within three of the 500-mark.
Glamorgan had a dozen overs to face under the Canterbury floodlights. and the home attack were soon amongst the wickets as Snick Selman edged Milne into Billings’ gloves. Jack Murphy came in and clipped the New Zealander to square-leg for four. Shortly afterwards he had a life as Dickson dropped a chance in the slips off Stevens as the second wicket pair saw Glamorgam through to the close of play.
Afternoon Update
Having reached 99/4 at lunch, Zak Crawley and Joe Denly were looking to continue their rescue mission after Glamorgan had reduced Kent to 39/4 after fifty minutes play. Denly duly square-drove the first ball from Lukas Carey for four before pulling the youngster just over the head of a diving Jack Murphy at mid-wicket. But in the second over, Hogan deceived Crawley into miscuing an off-drive and spooning a ball to Craig Meschede at mid-off.
At the start of this game, there were only six other batsmen in the country with higher aggregates this season than Denly and the right-hander showed why in Carey’s next over as he twice unfurled sublime cover drives en route to a 90-ball fifty. But shortly afterwards Hogan struck again as he trapped Darren Stevens l.b.w. with Kent on 127/6.
Denly responded by striking Meschede for successive fours followed by another one against Carey through the covers followed by an inside-edge to fine-leg. He then glanced Smith to long-leg for four before edging a no-ball from David Lloyd into Cooke’s gloves. He responded by bludgeoning Lloyd to long-off for six before pulling the all-rounder for four to complete a 149-ball hundred as Kent also secured their first batting point.
Denkly plundered a pair of f-side drives when Hogan returned , but Lloyd shortly afterwards made the breakthrough as he trapped Haggett l.b.w. Adam Milne announced his arrival by square-driving Lloyd for four before pulling him to mid-wicket in the penultimate over of the session.
Morning Report
“In September, we will wander through the warm winds of summer's wreckage. We will welcome summer's ghost, “ so wrote American poet Henry Rollins when attempting to capture some of the quintessential features of the ninth month of the year. Kent’s cricketers, who spent four days last week at waterlogged Chesterfield might have added a few lines themselves about summer’s ghost and seeing apparitions of white-clothed figures on the outfield at Queen’s Park.
There was nothing unreal or surreal however this morning at Canterbury as play began on time at 10.30 with Glamorgan opting to bowl first in the overcast and autumnal conditions. The Welsh county made three changes to their line-up from the drawn game last week in Cardiff with Jack Murphy and David Lloyd replacing the injured duo of Colin Ingram and Aneurin Donald, whilst Lukas Carey returned in place of Marchant de Lange.
Carey duly shared the new ball with Michael Hogan as Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson opened the batting. Both played and missed several times against the visiting attack until Dickson cover-drove Carey in the fifth over, followed next over by a nurdled four to third man. But Hogan made the perfect riposte as he claimed his 43rd wicket of the season as the opener edge to David Lloyd who had been pressed into service at first slip.
14/1 immediately became 14/2 as Bell-Drummond played an airy drive outside off stump to Carey and outside edged into Cooke’s gloves. Sam Northeast got off the mark by edging Hogan through fourth slip but in Carey’s fifth over he edged the youngster to Lloyd as Kent slumped further to 20/3 and Glamorgan secured their first bowling point.
Sam Billings began by driving Hogan in the air through extra cover before clipping Carey along the ground to square-leg. He then squirted the next ball through point plus the last of the over through mid-off for further boundaries but Ruaidhri Smith then replaced Hogan at the Pavilion End and with his third delivery, he found the edge of Billings’ bat with Cooke completing the catch diving in front of the slip cordon.
39/4 saw Zak Crawley join Denly and the youngster began by pulling Smith for six over mid-wicket. After fifty minutes of watchful defence, Denly found the ropes as he cover drove Meschede, whilst Crawley off-drove Meschede for four. Hogan then returned at the Pavilion End and was on-driven for four by Denly. Crawley then greeted the return of Smith at the Nackington Road End by square-cutting and straight-driving successive balls from the seamer for fours.
Denly straight-drove Meschede for a pair of fours, before Crawly got a thick outside edge to a ball from Smith which flew through fourth slip. Next over, he clubbed a short ball from Smith to deep mid-wicket before bringing up the fifty stand by nurdling the all-rounder through the slips. Denly also edged Hogan through the slips when the captain returned shortly before the interval.