Surrey v Kent (day three)

Leading run-scorer Martin van Jaarsveld starred with bat and ball to almost single-handedly keep Kent in contention for a much needed win over fellow championship strugglers Surrey as 18 wickets fell in an action packed third day at The Brit Oval.

Kent went in at the close on 166-5, still needing a further 92 for victory on the final day, but with hero van Jaarsveld still at the crease unbeaten on 70. On a day that started with the South African scoring an unbeaten 114 to help avoid the follow-on in Kent’s disappointing first innings of 270 all out, van Jaarsveld then went on to take 5-33 with his occasional off-spinners and help shoot the hosts out for 130 inside 40 overs.

Showing tremendous stamina and mental strength, the 34-year-old then strapped on the pads for a second time to hold together Kent’s faltering run chase throughout the final session.

With more than four sessions remaining to reach their target, Kent slumped to 28-3 before van Jaarsveld and Darren Steven’s inspired a Kent fight back.

Rob Key played on against Jade Dernbach for a first-ball duck and though James Tredwell avoided a pair, he went leg before for two to Pedro Collins, who then had Joe Denly (18) snaffled at slip by Newman to make it 39-3 at tea.

Stevens and van Jaarsveld then wrestled the initiative Kent’s way with an attractive stand of 95 in 20 overs to which Stevens contributed a fluent 63 from 67 balls, with 10 fours.

His fun ended when, in trying to drive against Saqlain Mushtaq, he dragged his back foot to be stumped by Jonathan Batty then, with only thee to his name, Justin Kemp was superbly caught at short leg also off Saqlain’s wrist-spin.

It made no difference to van Jaarsveld though as he kept churning the runs out and, in tandem with Geraint Jones (5), saw out the remaining overs to give Kent a glimmer of hope for securing their second win of the campaign come Wednesday’s final day.

Tuesday had started with Kent battling to pass the follow on figure of 248, which they did in reaching 270 but their return of two batting bonus points was still a modest one.

Van Jaarsveld posted a 142-ball hundred, his second in the championship this season with 14 fours but Kent’s tail fell away thereafter.

Without adding to his overnight score of 25 Ryan McLaren was caught off Saqlain's fourth ball of the day by Ali Brown at slip.

Martin Saggers clipped three runs through mid-wicket that posted Kent's 250, a second batting point and made Surrey bat again but he then pushed down the wrong line to lose off stump and give Saqlain figures of 5-79.

Last man Robbie Joseph scored only a single before he played outside an in-ducker from Razzaq to go leg before and end another disappointing Kent first innings after only 66.1 overs.

Van Jaarsveld was left not out on 114, an innings which took him past 500 championship runs for the season and 1,000 in all forms of the game.

In between van Jaarsveld’s heroics, Surrey put in a poor performance in their second innings and capitulated for 130 in 39.3 overs.

Having raced to 50 without inside 10 overs the Browncaps lost all 10 wickets for a further 80 in 30 more overs.

Tardy opening bursts by Robbie Joseph (four overs for 17) and Yasir Arafat (four overs for 31) had allowed Scott Newman and Matt Spriegel to get off to a flier so Kent introduced van Jaarsveld at the Vauxhall End, for his first bowl of the season, and James Tredwell from the Pavilion End.

Van Jaarsveld's first over ended with Spriegel (8) slipping back onto his stumps to dislodge the leg bail with his back foot.

Then, to the first ball of van Jaarsveld's next over, Mark Ramprakash waltzed down the pitch aiming a lofted straight drive but picked out Ryan McLaren at mid-wicket to go first ball; his first championship duck in three years.

First innings century-maker Jonathan Batty shouldered arms to the hat-trick ball but, with his score on three, was bowled through the gate by Tredwell.

Usman Afzaal went back in defence to his first ball from Tredwell and was snared leg before by arm ball then Newman, having already raced to his 50 from 66 balls with 10 fours, survived Tredwell's hat-trick ball.

The rout continued after the lunch break when, in the 22nd over, van Jaarsveld took two more. Brown drove back a stinging catch that the bowler accepted at the second attempt and three balls later Razzaq missed a back foot force to go lbw.

Having hit 11 fours and a couple of sixes in his 101-ball innings of 72, left-handed Newman became van Jaarsveld’s fifth victim when he went back to be leg before to a shooting arm ball.

Van Jaarsveld’s 5-33 was his maiden five-wicket haul in first-class cricket after taking only nine wickets in his first three seasons for the county.

Yasir Arafat and Tredwell duly polished off the tail; Arafat pegged back Chris Schofield’s middle stump with an in-swinger, Saqlain ran himself out trying to steal a leg-side bye to Jones then Pedro Collins ran down the pitch and missed a wild slog to gift Jones a stumping and Surrey were all out by 2.50pm.

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