Kent v Gloucestershire: Day 3 report

Final score:

Kent won by 334 runs

Kent 298 & 246

Gloucestershire 149 & 61 (20.4 ov, target: 396)

Day three report

Kent's wily seamer Darren Stevens bagged six for 22 to help his side to secure a dramatic three-day victory in Canterbury where Gloucestershire were skittled for 61 in the space of 93 minutes.

The 41-year-old Stevens joined forces with James Harris - making his on-loan debut from Middlesex - to dismiss the visitors inside 21 mid-session overs and wrap up an emphatic win by 334 runs with four sessions of this Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash remaining.

Gloucestershire's unlikely victory target of 396 on a sporting St Lawrence pitch, suddenly became an insurmountable task once Kent's new ball pairing of Stevens and Harris reduced the visitors to 14 for four in the space of 28 deliveries.

Cameron Bancroft (2) appeared bemused as he played down the wrong line to lose off stump to Harris, then first innings top-scorer Chris Dent (4) suffered a similar fate when shouldering arms to a Stevens in-swinger.

Will Tavare (4) prodded forward at Harris to feather a catch to the keeper and, next ball up, George Hankins threw the kitchen sink into a drive only to be caught in the cordon by Will Gidman at third slip.

Visiting skipper Phil Mustard survived the Harris hat-trick delivery but, without scoring, he nicked behind when aiming to drive a drifting in-ducker from Stevens.

Graeme van Buuren (3) withdrew the bat against Stevens to lose off stump, as did Craig Miles (0) after groping inside the line of an away swinger to make it 24 for seven.

As they moved past 31 David Payne (6) at least spared Gloucestershire the ignominy of posting their lowest total against Kent - mustered at the Angel Ground, Tonbridge in 1903 - but, with 36 on the board, Payne sliced a back-foot force against Stevens to backward point where Daniel Bell-Drummond pouched a diving catch.

Jack Taylor (14) pushed defensively outside the line of another Stevens in-swinger to depart lbw then Liam Norwell, Kent's tormentor with the ball, top-scored with 24 before he skied an attempted pull against Mitch Claydon to the keeper to finish the game by 3.50pm, while Harris completed his excellent debut with figures of three for 26 and six wickets in the game.

There was little or no sign of the drama that would follow at the start of day three as Kent batted on until shortly after lunch in adding 128 to their overnight total. Resuming on 118 for four the hosts were soon in trouble against fiery opening bursts from Norwell, who bagged three for nought in five balls.

Night-watchman Harris (13) sparred at a Norwell lifter and edged through to keeper Mustard, Stevens lost his off stump when aiming an airy drive to a full delivery then, two balls later, Adam Rouse also departed without scoring when he feathered one from Norwell to third slip where Tavare took a sharp chance.

With a five-wicket haul to his name and eight in the match, Norwell took a deserved rest, allowing experienced left-handers Gidman and James Tredwell to forge a vital eighth-wicket partnership that added an unbroken 60 through to the interval. In the process, Gidman scored a 101-ball 50 with eight fours.

The hosts came out swinging for late runs after lunch, but Gidman was bowled by Taylor without addition and, two balls later, Matt Coles fell to the same bowler after heaving across the line.

Tredwell (47 not out) and Claydon (16) added a precious 52 for the last wicket before Claydon clipped to mid-on to leave Gloucestershire facing their unlikely victory target of 396 with more than four sessions of the game remaining.

Kent proved too good for them and banked 21 points for their opening Division Two win of the campaign while Gloucestershire headed home with only three.

Day two report

Joe Denly's second half-century of the game and a four-wicket blast by Mitch Claydon extended Kent's advantage over Gloucestershire by stumps on day two of the Specsavers County Championship match in Canterbury.

After hitting 62 in Kent's first innings, Denly followed with an equally vital 59 as Kent reached 118 for four for an emphatic overall lead of 267 going into day three of the match.

Batting for a second time by Saturday's final session and having banked a 149-run lead, Kent suffered an early blow when Daniel Bell-Drummond prodded indeterminately at one from Liam Norwell to be caught at third slip with only three on the board.

Kent's second-wicket pairing of Denly and Joe Weatherley set out their stall to bat time for an hour, content to knock the shine off the new ball in the face of a testing examination from the likes of David Payne, Chris Liddle, Craig Miles and Norwell.

With the hard work seemingly done Weatherley, on 34, wastefully chased a wide one from Norwell to edge to the keeper, but Denly dug deeper to post a second successive half-century off 92 balls and with eight fours.

Denly lost his skipper Sam Northeast for eight - off balance and aiming to leg he departed lbw to Miles - then just before stumps the former England one-day bat threw the sink at one from Miles to snick to a jubilant Phil Mustard.

Earlier, Kent mopped up seven mid-session Gloucestershire wickets for 60 runs to skittle the visitors for 149 by tea for exactly half their first-day total.

Only Chris Dent's battling three-hour innings of 67 saved the visitors from total ignominy as Mitch Claydon bagged four for 35 and James Harris three for 42 as Gloucestershire succumbed inside 60 overs.

Dent, the 26-year-old Bristolian opener, laid anchor for 145 balls and fared better than most the face of some hostile, short pitched bowling from the Kent trio of Harris, Matt Coles and Claydon to take his side into the lunch break on 89 for three.

Buoyed by the break, Claydon bowled with continued pace and hostility after the resumption and was rewarded four wickets as Gloucestershire lost five wickets for 11 runs in the space of 61 deliveries.

Only 15 balls after the resumption Graeme van Buuren (10) sparred off the back foot only to edge to be caught by the juggling James Tredwell at second slip, then George Hankins played over a leg stump yorker to make it 106 for five.

Six overs later, Claydon struck again to end Dent's stoic innings. Prodding half forward the left-hander dragged the ball onto his leg stump, and, without addition to the total, Mustard edged one from Stevens low to third slip and Jack Taylor departed after feathering an airy drive to slip.

David Payne and Miles added 22 runs on the counter attack before Miles nibbled one into the cordon off Harris, who then had last man Liddle caught behind via an inside edge and deflection off his front pad to end the innings and force an early tea.

At the start of second day Kent struck in the third over when Harris, the on-loan seamer from Middlesex, removed night watchman Norwell lbw for 13.

Fourth-wicket pairing Will Tavare and Dent rode their luck, playing and missing and surviving concerted lbw shouts against Darren Stevens and Harris, yet both stood firm to post a 50 stand by the 31st over.

The partnership added 71 in 26.5 overs before Will Gidman struck in his only over of the day and moments before lunch, bowling Tavare off his pads as the right-hander aimed to work to leg.

Day one report

Liam Norwell led a determined Gloucestershire bowling display in Canterbury where Kent were dismissed for 298 on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship season.

The 25-year-old paceman bagged three for 46, while Chris Liddle, Craig Miles and Graeme van Buuren snaffled two apiece as Kent succumbed inside 89 overs on a green-tinted pitch that offered the visiting seamers some assistance throughout the day.

Batting first after an uncontested toss, Kent had 25 on the board within half an hour before Daniel Bell-Drummond became their first casualty of the Division Two campaign. Prodding forward to a fine Norwell leg-cutter, the England Lions opener was caught low down at third slip by George Hankins to go for 11.

At the other end, Joe Weatherley, who has joined Kent on a long-term loan from Hampshire, looked assured and confident on his club debut. Getting off the mark with a rasping square cut, the wiry right-hander then straight drove left-armer David Payne for another eye-catching boundary.

Gloucestershire made a double bowling change before noon - introducing Liddle and Miles - but Kent trundled to 50 in the 18th over of the day and, by the 26th over, Weatherley and Joe Denly had posted their half-century stand.

Weatherley's stay ended soon after for 36 and to the second delivery of a new spell by Miles. In looking to shoulder arms to a good length leg-cutter, Weatherley inadvertently allowed the ball to brush the face of his bat to offer keeper Phil Mustard the simplest of chances. It was the veteran gloveman's 650th first-class catch.

Gloucestershire's bowlers strengthened their hand in mid-session, taking four more wickets for 129 runs as Kent's batsmen failed to cash in on decent starts.

Denly continued Kent's profligate trend. Driving imperiously, he cantered to a 96-ball fifty with nine fours but, with 62 to his name the right-hander chased a wide one from Norwell to edge to slip and bring an end to a bright third-wicket stand with Sam Northeast that added 58 inside 13 overs.

Without addition to the total, Northeast (22) pushed at one from Liddle that nibbled away off the seam and feathered the outside edge to present Chris Dent with a sharp chance at second slip that made it 134 for four.

Will Gidman raised Kent's 150 for a first batting bonus point with a square drive that rattled the boundary boards but, with his score on 10, the left-hander pushed firm-handed at another beauty to edge to slip and give Norwell a deserved third wicket.

Darren Stevens lifted the run rate with a straight six off Jack Taylor that bisected the Cowdrey and Woolley stands as the wily all-rounder posted a 51-ball fifty with seven fours to go with his maximum. But, in attempting to clip his next ball through mid-wicket, Stevens miscued to square leg to be caught by Cameron Bancroft off the bowling of Van Buuren and leave the hosts six wickets down.

Soon after the resumption Adam Rouse (13) fenced at a lifting away-swinger from Miles to edge to Mustard, then, after a couple of lusty blows, Matt Coles (11) holed out to deep mid-wicket to gift Van Buuren a second scalp.

James Tredwell and James Harris, the Middlesex seamer and Kent's second debutant loanee of the day, took the home score beyond 250 for a third batting bonus point until the second new ball accounted for Tredwell (26) who was caught behind off a full-length away-swinger from Payne.

Harris and last man Mitch Claydon continued to go for their shots but, with Kent two short of a fourth batting point, Claydon spooned to mid-wicket to give Liddle a second wicket and leave Harris unbeaten on 33.

In the five overs through to stumps, Gloucestershire's Bancroft played inside a Stevens away-swinger to lose off stump as the visitors reached nine for one to trail by 289 going into the second day.