STEVENS
AND KEY PUT KENT IN STRONG POSITION by Marcus Hook
Kent 266 & 167-6 v Surrey 127.
A career best 7-21 from Darren Stevens,
supplemented by an unwavering 70 not out from Rob Key, put Kent
firmly in control against Surrey on the second day at Canterbury.
With rain forecast for Saturday, the hosts will go into day three
entertaining hopes of completing the job before things reach that
stage.
Notwithstanding the seamer-friendly conditions,
Surrey's batting display could only be described as feeble. Darren
Stevens did not pass up the opportunity to better his previous
career best of 6-60, which straddled the first two days of the
season, against Essex.
In the hour of play that was possible before rain
forced an early lunch, Surrey subsided from 54 without loss to 64-5,
which almost became 70-6 when Zafar Ansari, on three, was dropped at
third slip, by Stevens, off the bowling of Wahab Riaz. But Stevens
could be forgiven for his lapse since he was in the middle of a
devastating spell that read 7-5-7-3.
In the second over of the day he had Steven Davies
caught low down at second slip. Mark Ramprakash then pushed Riaz
into the off-side and called Rory Hamilton-Brown through for a quick
single. But before the Surrey captain could make his ground, he was
beaten by a direct hit from Joe Denly.
Three overs later, Zander de Bruyn was caught in
the gully, having been squared up by Stevens, who struck again when
Ramprakash played an indeterminate forward defensive only to be
caught behind.
Riaz, who had been getting the ball to lift off a
length, then got in on the act by enticing Jason Roy into an
ill-judged cut-cum-slap, which flew straight to backward point.
During lunch the former Kent and England greats
Alan Knott and Derek Underwood opened a stand in their name before
repairing to the Committee Tent to enjoy the circling marching band,
which did its best to drown the sound of the building work taking
place at the Pavilion End.
Immediately after the break Tom Maynard drove Riaz
straight down the ground for four before becoming Stevens's fourth
scalp. Seven overs later, Ansari was caught at long leg to hand Adam
Ball his only success.
In-between two further interruptions for rain, the
second of which brought tea forward, Stevens polished off the Surrey
tail.
Shortly after being dropped by Geraint Jones,
Yasir Arafat fell leg before. The next over saw Gareth Batty take
the visitors past the follow-on target of 117 with a cover driven
four off Ball. With Tim Linley and Jade Dernbach perishing in almost
identical fashion, to catches at third slip, Batty was left stranded
on 23.
Linley trapped Denly leg before with the second
ball after tea. Rob Key, strong through the off-side as ever,
punched fours off Arafat and de Bruyn before Sam Northeast, playing
a loose drive, was caught behind in the fourteenth over.
Three overs later, Martin van Jaarsveld brought
the fifty up for Kent with the first of two boundaries in the space
of three deliveries from de Bruyn. But an ugly heave in the 22nd
over saw the South African depart to a good catch by Ansari, running
round to his right from mid-off.
Stevens got off the mark with a powerfully struck
straight drive off Batty. But an attempt to hit Ansari back over his
head for six, resulted in a routine catch at mid-off.
Two overs later, Key raised his half-century,
which came off 88 balls and included just four boundaries. But Jones
departed not long afterwards when, trying to work Linley to leg, he
was beaten for pace.
James Tredwell's demise with three overs to go,
lbw sweeping, took the wicket count for the day to sixteen, making
Kent's 306-run advantage seem all the more colossal.
GO TO:
BACK TO:
|