Rees guides Glamorgan to a 92-run lead at Canterbury

Resuming this morning on 205/4, Kent were still 124 runs in arrears after a truncated day's play yesterday when the final ninety minutes were lost to an autumnal combination of bad light and mizzle. But it was not all gloom as far as the Glamorgan camp were concerned - before the weather intervened, Kieran Bull had delivered a very promising first spell in Championship cricket, whilst the Glamorgan seamers had steadily chiselled away at the home batting.


With the new ball three overs away this morning, Dean Cosker and David Lloyd briefly resumed with Darren Stevens on-driving the latter, before the new ball was taken with Michael Hogan and Graham Wagg returning to action eager to polish off Kent's innings and to secure a first innings lead - something that with Glamorgan 7/3 after the first hour of the game had seemed pie in the sky.


Northeast welcomed Hogan by upper-cutting him over the slip cordon but Stevens was not so fortunate when the Australian found the edge of his bat, with Mark Wallace safely completing the chest-high catch. 218/5 saw Sam Billings join Northeast and he soon found the ropes as he nurdled Wagg to third man before next over drilling him through mid-off.


Northeast twice clipped Hogan to mid-wicket for four shortly before the floodlights came on as the cloud cover increased, and with all the pylons in action, Northeast drove Hogan to the boards at mid-wicket. Billings followed suit in the tall pace bowler's next over as the 250 came up before Wagg switched to the Pavilion End. Northeast duly completed his patient fifty - from 128 balls - by cutting Allenby for four.


Lloyd had a short spell at the Nackington Road End and was driven to the long-off boundary by Billings who twice repeated the stroke in Wagg's next two overs as the fifty stand came up. Bull returned to the attack twenty minutes before lunch and nearly had Northeast caught at slip before Cosker also returned in the closing part of the session and was despatched for six and four by Northeast.

Kent resumed after lunch on 313/5 with the two Sam's - Messrs Billings and Northeast - having shared a 95-run stand to almost wipe off the arrears. Jim Allenby and Michael Hogan resumed the bowling as Billings completed his fifty from 86 balls before he took his side into the lead with a coruscating cover drive against Hogan. He then scythed Allenby over the slip cordon before the pair scampered a series of singles.

Glamorgan then opted for an all-spin attack as Dean Cosker and Kieran Bull bowled in tandem. Northeast despatched the latter through the covers for four, before Billings reverse-swept the teenager for four. But Bull gained revenge next over as Billings miscued an orthodox sweep with David Lloyd at mid-wicket safely holding onto the catch as Kent lost their sixth wicket on 369.


With Mitch Claydon as his new partner, Northeast completed his hundred from 197 balls, but shortly afterwards Bull struck again as Claydon departed l.b.w. 373/7 then became 375/8 as Northeast slapped a ball from Cosker towards point where Cooke dived to his left to grasp the ball inches above the turf. After a series of maidens, Robbie Joseph cover drove Cosker before pulling Bull to the ropes, but with the total on 386 he departed leg before to Cosker.

One run later Bull ended the innings as he bowled Matt Hunn to end with the commendable figures on debut of 25.3-6-62-4, and just one wicket short of becoming the first spinner to take five wickets on debut for Glamorgan - an achievement previously achieved by the seam and pace of Ezra Moseley, Robert Hadley, Darren Thomas, Steve Bastian and Wilf Wooller.

Jacques Rudolph and Will Bragg began Glamorgan's second innings with the latter cover-driving Claydon, but in the bowler struck in his second over, and the third of the innings as he bowled Bragg. Gareth Rees duly made his way to the middle and clipped Darren Stevens to fine-leg before despatching the next delivery to mid-wicket for four. Two overs later he also cut Stevens for four, before Rudolph cover drove the new ball bowler for three.


Rudolph also deftly guided Claydon to third man for four before Adam Riley's spin was introduced. But it was Stevens who made further inroads as in his eighth over he had an l.b.w. appeal upheld against Rudolph as Glamorgan slipped to 41/2. Chris Cooke duly joined Rees and cut Stevens for four before Rees cover drove Riley.


The arrears were wiped off as Cooke cover drove Stevens with the batsman also edging the all-rounder through the slips for four. Riley then switched to the Nackington Road End and was swept for six by Rees, before Cooke brought up the 100 with a sumptuous on-drive against the spinner. But it proved to be his final scoring stroke as next over he edged a drive against Joseph with Billings completing the catch behind the stumps.


With nine overs remaining in the day's quota, Jim Allenby joined Rees, who duly completed his first Championship fifty since the last week of April by flicking riley to long-leg and then drilling the spinner through mid-off to reach his half-century from 91 balls. He celebrated by unleashing a booming cover drive against Joseph followed next ball by a savage pull to mid-wicket. Next over, the paceman again dropped short and Allenby was able to harpoon the ball high over the mid-wicket boundary. He repeated the stroke when Riley switched to the Pavilion End shortly before the close.