Kent win by an innings and 124 runs

IF KENT are to go on and win the championship this season they will have done so the hard way if this day’s play against Glamorgan is anything to go by.

The Welsh batted valiantly throughout early morning drizzle to delay the inevitability of following on, but their resistance floundered late in day three as they succumbed for 157 allowing Kent to wrap up their innings and 124-run with an over of the day to spare.

Any thoughts that the Frizzell Division 1 basement side would roll over to concede defeat were swept aside by a stoic, record last wicket stand between David Hemp and Huw Waters, who held up the hosts for almost 52 overs in adding 118.

"I was always going to make them follow-on," said skipper David Fulton, despite his psychological double bluff at sprinting off the ground with fellow opener Rob Key in a show at padding up at the fall of Waters’ wicket.

"We really had no alternative other than to keep chipping away and if we need to win the hard way, then we’ll do it the hard way."

So frustrated at Waters’ resistance, Fulton even resorted to bowling two overs of his own 'flighted' left-arm donkey drops in a fruitless bid to break the 10th wicket stand.

Last man Waters who, having strained a calf earlier in the game batted for a shade over three hours with David Harrison as a runner, was finally dislodged for 34 when Simon Cook forced him to edge to third slip.

Hemp, the left-hander formerly with Warwickshire, remained unbeaten on a Glamorgan-best 171 from 231 balls and with 86 in boundaries.

Fulton duly enforced the follow-on with a first innings lead of 291 and went on to skittle out the basement side within 222 minutes on a fairly bland and lifeless Canterbury Week pitch.

Second time around the Welsh lost Mark Wallace to a catch at the wicket then Dan Cherry, bowled around his legs to the last ball before tea.

Michael Powell played late against Hall to go leg before then Hemp, having batted almost six hours in the first innings, went leg before after half-an-hour when missing a tired defensive push.

Jon Hughes played across a Khan yorker then Alex Wharf played horribly across the line to Cook to make it 111 for six.

Home supporters started wondering whether Kent would need the extra half-hour to polish the win off with a day to spare, but Andrew Hall returned at the Nackington Road End to polish off the innings with a stint of four for 14 in six overs.

The 22 points from this, their sixth championship win, returns Kent to the top of the table with five matches of the campaign to go.

SCOREBOARD

Kent first innings

D P Fulton c Wallace b Waters 15
R W T Key b Wharf 35
M van Jaarsveld b Wharf 41
M J Walker b Harrison 11
D I Stevens c Wharf b Croft 208
J Kemp lbw b Cosker 39
A J Hall c&b Cosker 133
N J O’Brien c Croft b Cosker 0
M M Patel c Hemp b Harrison 64
S J Cook c Hughes b Harrison 13
A Khan not out 0
Extras 28

Total 587 all out in 135.5 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-46, 2-64, 3-99, 4-132, 5-233, 6-500, 7-500, 8-537, 9-587.

Bowling: Harrison 24.5-4-125-3, Wharf 24-5-93-2, Waters 18-1-83-1, Croft 39-5-160-1, Cosker 30-5-123-3.

Glamorgan first innings

D D Cherry b Khan 0
M A Wallace c Walker b Cook 0
D L Hemp not out 171
J Hughes c Kemp b Khan 1
M J Powell lbw b Cook 23
M P O’Shea lbw b Khan 0
A G Wharf c Stevens b Patel 21
R D B Croft b Kemp 2
D S Harrison lbw b Khan 4
D A Cosker b Stevens 18
H T Waters c Stevens b Cook 34
Extras 32

Total 306 all out after 95.5 overs.

Fall of wicket: 1-2, 2-2, 3-17, 4-62, 5-63, 6-115, 7-127, 8-139, 9-188.

Bowling: Khan 20-0-96-3, Cook 13.5-5-35-3, Hall 15-4-36-1, Stevens 7-0-32-1, Patel 21-3-53-1, Kemp 13-1-38-1, van Jaarsveld 1-1-0-0, Fulton 2-0-5-0, Walker 3-0-3-0.

Glamorgan second innings (following on)

D D Cherry b Patel 21
M A Wallace c O’Brien b Cook 10
J Hughes b Khan 27
M J Powell lbw b Hall 6
D L Hemp lbw b Hall 13
M P O’Shea b Kemp 24
A G Wharf lbw b Cook 5
R D B Croft c Key b Kemp 12
D S Harrison b Hall 19
D A Cosker not out 7
H T Waters lbw b Hall 0
Extras 13

Total 157 all out after 52 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-14, 3-53, 3-61, 4-79, 5-92, 6-111, 7-125, 8-138, 9-157.

Bowling: Cook 12-5-26-2, Hall 13-4-32-4, Khan 7-1-34-1, Kemp 9-2-23-2, Patel 8-1-26-1, Stevens 3-0-12-0.

Kent (22 points) beat Glamorgan (5 points) by an innings and 124 runs.