Darren Stevens hits second successive 50 for the second XI
Thursday 11th June 2015
All-rounder Darren Stevens scored his second 50 in two days for the second XI in the Championship match against Essex at Maidstone.
The 39-year-old asked to play in the fixture for some batting practice and followed his fine 68 on Tuesday with 75 at the top of the order on Wednesday.
Speaking afterwards to reporter Alex Crouch, Stevens said: "I'm going through a bit of a rough patch with the bat so it's a little bit frustrating personally and for the club.
"I just needed to spend some time in the middle so I rang [high performance director] Simon Willis the morning of our game against Derby and I asked if I could come and have a bat.
"I had a bit of time in the middle in the first innings and got a good ball and then one that gripped today [in the 2nd innings].
"It was just really nice to enjoy batting again, building an innings, playing a few shots and enjoying my cricket."
Kent dismissed Essex for 342 on day two, a first-innings lead of 58 – Mitch Claydon took 3/56 and Imran Qayyum claimed 4/82.
At the cose of play, Kent moved to 131-3, an advantage of 189 with a day remaining.