New Road Clash finely poised – Day 2 Match Report
Monday 14th April 2014
Half-centuries from Daniel Bell-Drummond and Ben Harmison helped Kent establish a narrow first-innings lead over Worcestershire before the hosts fought back on day two of their LV= County Championship Division Two match.
Bell-Drummond made 61 and Harmison 55 in Kent's 229, replying to Worcestershire's 224, the visitors losing their final four wickets for just 21 runs, including the last three in 11 balls.
Gareth Andrew did much of the damage with the ball, running through the tail and also getting rid of Harmison as he returned figures of four for 42.
Moeen Ali's contribution was just as telling, though, as the England man picked up three wickets, including that of Bell-Drummond, and took a fantastic one-handed catch to help remove Harmison.
The hosts were 41 without loss in their second innings at stumps, a lead of 36 runs.
A glorious morning at New Road started well for the home side as they got rid of Brendan Nash for three.
Nash added just two to his overnight score before being deceived by a short delivery from Jack Shantry, with Tom Kohler-Cadmore's catch handing the bowler his second wicket of the match.
Harmison, the new man in, and Bell-Drummond played patiently, taking the score past the hundred mark before lunch.
Bell-Drummond brought up his half-century from 124 balls, but the duo's partnership of 81 was ended by Ali, who coaxed the 20-year-old, who had been chasing his second first-class century, into a questionable sweep and trapped him lbw.
The dismissal, after Bell-Drummond had faced 163 balls and hit six fours, left Kent on 127 for four.
The arrival of Darren Stevens helped to lift the run rate, the veteran hitting five boundaries on his way to 23 and starting to look a danger when Ali struck once more for the Pears, again trapping his man lbw.
And Worcestershire got a sixth wicket before tea, with Harmison, on 49, losing another partner as Sam Billings went lbw to Andrew for a swift 13.
Harmison brought up his hard-earned half-century from 192 balls soon after the break, but Andrew struck again to bowl James Tredwell for 15 and leave Kent on 208 for seven.
Worcestershire's two key men combined to end Harmison's resistance four overs later as Ali held a brilliant catch at mid-off off Andrew, bringing the batsman's four-hour stay at the crease to an end.
Andrew then took his second wicket of the over as he made light work of Robbie Joseph (four), with Ali wrapping up the innings by bowling Mitchell Claydon (16) in the next over.
Daryl Mitchell (22) and Matthew Pardoe (18) ensured Worcestershire's second innings got off to a steady start.