Leicestershire’s wait for win goes on after Daniel Bell-Drummond saves Kent
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Version 0 of 1. The wait for a County Championship win goes on for Leicestershire but the final day of this match certainly produced drama. Leicestershire started it as favourites but it was Kent who very nearly won thanks to a superb century from the opener Daniel Bell-Drummond and a destructive cameo from Darren Stevens. The match ended in a draw, with the host 42 runs short of their victory target of 315. With 73 overs in which to take the 10 wickets and with plenty of runs to play with, this represented one of the best opportunities Leicestershire have had for victory in their marathon winless streak that stretches back to September 2012. Their pursuit began well with the two early wickets of Joe Denly and Rob Key within 11 overs. Leicestershire’s tails were up and it is to Bell-Drummond’s enormous credit that he survived that spell. The seamers Ben Raine and Clint McKay were consistently getting the ball to nip back in to the right-handers, especially when coming down the slope. Both Bell-Drummond and his left-handed partner Brendon Nash battled hard for the next 15 overs, with runs almost impossible to come by as Shreck, Raine and McKay bowled with remarkable control. But while the seamers toiled away in the gale-force winds, they could not get the penetration they had in the first innings. The partnership between Nash and Bell-Drummond developed, the ball lost all its shine and the field placings became more and more defensive. The pair brought up their 100-partnership having batted together for 32 overs, almost certainly saving the game. The last 10 overs, though, brought more drama. Kent needed eight an over for victory, and they were going for them. Bell-Drummond scored Kent’s first century of the season with 8.3 overs remaining. It had been an innings of some note; he had gritted his way through a testing period against the new ball and then exploited the change in conditions as the grey clouds gave way to early evening sunshine and as the Duke ball became softer and softer, before falling for 103. Stevens, who can finish off a chase very quickly, had every intention of finishing this one off, hitting a series of powerful blows to move quickly to 34 from 37 deliveries when he was caught behind with Kent still needing 61 to win. Leicestershire, who had started to contemplate defeat, suddenly scented victory again, and when Matt Coles top-edged behind they still had a slight chance of it, and had certainly prevented what would have been a devastating defeat, but ultimately they ran out of overs. Earlier in the day, the Leicestershire second innings had been wrapped up inside five overs in the morning session; all out for 196 with a lead of 314. But as the players went off for the innings break, the rain descended on the St Lawrence Ground, wiping out the rest of the morning session. For Kent, saving this match was vital. It was the sort of game that, had they lost it, could have signalled an irreversible slump in confidence. Matches against Leicestershire are, rightly or wrongly, ones that every county targets as ones they should win. For Leicestershire, they may not have got the monkey off their back with a win, but are closer to it than they have been for a couple of seasons. There’s a new found competitive edge to them and in the Australian McKay they have an overseas player who offers an enormous amount to the county with both bat and ball. Kent’s captain, Key, may be looking at disciplinary sanctions. The match officials confirmed a report has been filed to Lord’s about Key’s behaviour on day three during which he seemed to be engaged in a debate with umpire Steve O’Shaughnessy. An ECB statement is expected in a couple of days’ time. |