Durham 268 all out – Kent won by 95 runs

KENT notched their third Liverpool Victoria Championship match of the summer and inflicted Durham’s third straight defeat after holding their nerve to win by 95 runs in Stockton.

Having batted on for 90 minutes at the start of day three to extend their second innings total to 411, Kent allowed themselves a shade over five sessions to polish the job off – they needed less than two.

Facing a tough victory target of 364, Durham made it through to lunch without alarm in scoring 39 but it soon started going wrong for the hosts thereafter.

Jonathan Lewis played late on Amjad Khan’s first delivery after the interval to go leg before then, seven runs later Min Patel found some purchase off this tinder-dry pitch and grazed the outside edge of Gordon Muchall’s bat for Justin Kemp to take a regulation slip catch.

Gary Scott then followed a Khan leg-cutter for van Jaarsveld to dive low to his left and snaffle a sharp chance at second slip that made it 51 for three.

Van Jaarsveld then blotted his copybook by diving from gully across first slip to down a chance from Dale Benkenstein off Patel’s bowling, at which point Durham’s skipper had yet to get off the mark.

It proved a costly miss as Benkenstein teamed up with Jimmy Maher to add 141 for the fourth wicket.

During their 35 over partnership Kent might have broken through had David Fulton held on to a couple of sharp bat-pads catches off Maher, but despite a painful blow on the hand from Khan the Aussie left-hander dug in.

He was inadvertently responsible for ending the stand, however when, in the fifth over after tea he turned the ball off his legs and called for a single to mid-wicket. Benkenstein was slow to respond and went run out for 70 to Andrew Hall’s throw from square leg.

Four overs later and one short of his hundred Maher steered a lifting delivery from Khan into the hands of Kemp at second slip.

Scenting victory, Kent’s spinners started to turn the screw. James Tredwell lured Phil Mustard down the pitch to be stumped, Patel forced Ottis Gibson to edge to gully then Graham Onions shouldered arms and lost his off stump to Patel’s arm-ball.

Patel claimed is fourth victim when Moneeb Iqbal nibbled at a spiteful delivery and edged it to Kemp and Tredwell bagged his second when Gareth Breese missed a sweep shot to lose his off stump.

It meant Durham had lost their last seven wickets for 76 in the space of 22 overs.

The win moves Kent above Durham in the table, avenges the defeat at Canterbury at the start of the season and takes Kent’s successful run to five straight wins in all forms of cricket.

SCORECARD

Kent first inning

R W T Key b Lewis 0
D P Fulton c Mustard b Benkenstein 27
M van Jaarsveld lbw b Gibson 59
M J Walker c Maher b Gibson 2
D I Stevens c Gibson b Benkenstein 1
J M Kemp lbw b Gibson 0
A J Hall not out 0
N J O’Brien c & b Benkenstein 0
J C Tredwell c Mustard b Onions 16
M M Patel not out 0

Extras 27

Total 179 all out after 61.2 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-11, 2-82, 3-109, 4-112, 5-112, 6-112, 7-114, 8-161, 9-171.

Bowling: Lewis 6-2-24-1, Onions 10.2-3-43-3, Gibson 16-7-25-3, Benkenstein 20-10-52-3, Breese 7-1-18-0, Iqbal 2-0-11-0.

Durham first innings

J J B Lewis b Khan 4
J P Maher c Stevens b Kemp 27
G J Muchall c Hall b Kemp 61
G M Scott c O’Brien b Stevens 21
D M Benkenstein lbw b Stevens 12
G R Breese c O’Brien b Khan 15
P Mustard not out 41
O D Gibson c Kemp b Khan 4
G Onions c Kemp b Stevens 8
M M Iqbal lbw b Hall 0
M L Lewis c & b Stevens 14

Extras 20

Total 227 all out after 81.4 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-4, 2-56, 3-110, 4-135, 5-148, 6-178, 7-190, 8-207, 9-210

Bowling: Khan 23-3-70-3, Hall 18-5-39-1, Stevens 27.4-4-71-4, Kemp 12-3-33-2, Patel 1-0-4-0.

Kent second innings

R W T Key c Mustard b Gibson 4
D P Fulton c Gibson b Onions 29
M van Jaarsveld c Mustard b Gibson 2
M J Walker c sub (Thorp) b Gibson 6
J C Tredwell c Iqbal b Breese 47
D I Stevens c Benkenstein b Gibson 70
J M Kemp c sub (Thorp) b Gibson 118
A J Hall c Maher b Iqbal 45
N J O’Brien c Mustard b Gibson 62
M M Patel c Maher b Iqbal 0
A Khan not out 0

Extras 28

Total 411 all out after 70.4 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-4, 2-10, 3-24, 4-97, 5-101, 6-275, 7-290, 8-411, 9-411

Bowling: Onions 18-3-86-1, Gibson 20.4-2-110-6, Breese 16-1-73-1, Benkenstein 4-0-39-0, Iqbal 10-2-57-2, Muchall 2-0-22-0.

Durham second innings

J J B Lewis lbw b Khan 8
J P Maher c Kemp b Khan 99
G J Muchall c Kemp b Patel 1
G M Scott c van Jaarsveld b Khan 2
D M Benkenstein run out (Hall) 70
G R Breese b Tredwell 31
P Mustard st O’Brien b Tredwell 2
O D Gibson c van Jaarsveld b Patel 0
G Onions b Patel 2
M M Iqbal c Kemp b Patel 20
M L Lewis not out 1

Extras 29

Total 268 all out after 75.2 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-39, 2-46, 3-51, 4-192, 5-203, 6-206, 7-217, 8-219, 9-266

Bowling: Khan 17-3-52-3, Hall 7-2-38-0, Patel 26-2-83-4, Tredwell 19.2-7-58-2, Kemp 3-0-5-0, Stevens 3-0-8-0.

Kent won by 95 runs

Bonus points: Durham 4pts, Kent 17pts.