Kent seal seven-wicket win in style at Derby
Wednesday 25th May 2016
Alex Blake launched three sixes off his first three balls to seal an unlikely Kent win on the final day of the Specsavers County Championship match at Derby.
Calum Haggett and James Tredwell took four wickets each as the hosts were dismissed for 94 in just 28.4 overs before Kent chased a target of 175 to win with rain threatening to deny a victory.
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Daniel Bell-Drummond’s 80 not out was the foundation of the chase as he reaches his seventh score of 50+ in seven matches this summer, striking ten fours and a six as rain clouds circled around the 3aaa County Ground on the verge of teatime.
Resuming on 9-3 today, Neil Broom and Wayne Madsen looked more comfortable before Tredwell struck, caught superbly at first slip by Adam Ball with one hand low to his left.
Madsen was the next to depart, trapped LBW by Haggett who returned a career-best of 4/15 and went on to pick up three more wickets in the same manner with Poynton, Matt Critchley and Ben Cotton casualties to the accurate right-armer.
Tredwell, who passed 400 first class career wickets in the match, bowled Shiv Thakor for 10 as Kent picked up 5 for 15 in 5.1 overs to rip through the middle order.
With 175 to win and two sessions left, Kent batted well on a tricky worn pitch but with rain on the way, the batsmen accelerated.
Sean Dickson, Adam Ball and Sam Northeast were the men to fall as they looked to play positively with an eye on the weather.
Northeast’s 30 off 34 balls injected urgency to the chase before Bell-Drummond and Alex Blake combined to hit maximums off the final four balls with 23 required for victory with seven balls left before tea.