Kent captain Sam Northeast was left wondering what might have been after Lancashire escaped with a draw in the LV=County Championship Division 2 clash at Canterbury on Friday.

Lancashire, who secured promotion as a result of the draw, were 258-4 in their second innings, still trailing Kent by 53 runs when Northeast shook hands with his visiting counterpart Steven Croft.

It was Croft who had led the Lancashire resistance with an unbeaten 72 as he and wicket-keeper Alex Davies (58 not out) guided their team to safety with a 120-run partnership.

Northeast, who scored 139 in Kent's first and only innings when they posted 570 for 8 declared, said: "We all had high hopes after talking those two wickets late on the third day but we didn't bowl as well as we could do.

"But at the same time, I thought they batted really well and it just didn't go for us. A few chances went in gaps and a couple of lbw decisions could have gone either way.

"These things happen and it is frustrating but the boys tried seriously hard during their two innings but the wicket really flattened out come the final day.

"Sure we might not have got across the line in the end but we can hold our heads up high.

"We competed brilliantly against a team as doing as well as them for four days and we outplayed them for most of them. I think that is a really good sign for us.

"We want to finish the season strongly and this performance is a step in the right direction.