Bell-Drummond keeps Kent in touch

Kent 205 for 4 (Bell-Drummond 71) trail Glamorgan 329 by 124 runs
Scorecard

Daniel Bell-Drummond's determined 71 ensured Kent and Glamorgan remained in the balance with two days to go at Canterbury.

Bell-Drummond battled through 68 overs to anchor Kent's reply of 205 for 4 to Glamorgan's first-innings total of 329 before falling on the stroke of tea. The second day's play was later cut short by 23 overs due to bad light and rain.

Pushing forward to Graham Wagg's left-arm seam and swing, Bell-Drummond edged to Mark Wallace behind the stumps after facing 206 balls. But in between the stoical defence, the young Kent opener produced some sparkling strokes among his 11 fours.

Bell-Drummond, who turned 21 less than a month ago, has now scored 780 Championship runs this season at an average of 39 and this innings was the seventh time he has passed fifty. But his 101 against Derbyshire in late June remains his top score and only hundred of the campaign.

Kent resumed on 1 for 0 and Rob Key dominated an opening partnership of 60 with Bell-Drummond before, on 41, edging Jim Allenby's medium pace to Wallace.

Key greeted the introduction in the 17th over of Kieran Bull, a 19-year-old offspinner from Carmarthen making his first-class debut, by shuffling down the pitch to hit his fifth ball high over mid-on for six. There were also five fours in Key's innings and Brendan Nash, who added 67 with Bell-Drummond for the third wicket, played equally positively as he reached 40 from 67 balls until, trying to cut, he chopped a short ball from seamer David Lloyd onto his stumps.

In between Key's departure and Nash's arrival at the crease, the highly rated Bull bowled tidily and well from the Nackington Road End and was rewarded just before lunch when Ben Harmison was beaten by an arm ball and adjudged lbw for 10.

Bull, overall, had figures of 1 for 34 from 14 overs and, with the accurate Allenby and the metronomic Michael Hogan, kept Kent's batsmen largely quiet.

Wagg, indeed, was the only Glamorgan bowler who failed to maintain tight control on what was an attritional day. But Darren Stevens brightened up the last half-hour of play, before bad light and then rain prevented any more cricket beyond 4.45pm, with three crunching boundaries in his unbeaten 24 from 33 balls. Sam Northeast was the other not out Kent batsman, with an obdurate 18.

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Footitt four ruffles Worcester

Worcestershire 221 for 6 (Fell 70, Mitchell 67, Footitt 4-61) trail Derbyshire 356 by 135 runs
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Derbyshire again stood in the path of Worcestershire's promotion chase as Mark Footitt endorsed his England claims with another impressive display of fast bowling on the second day at Derby.

Footitt was a constant threat, combining pace with control to take 4 for 61 from 19 overs which helped restrict the Division Two leaders Worcestershire to one batting point in bowler-friendly conditions despite dogged half-centuries from Daryl Mitchell and Tom Fell.

The sustained accuracy and quality of Derbyshire's attack was highlighted by Fell's innings which contained 158 dot balls and at the close Worcestershire were still 135 runs behind on 221 for 6 in reply to Derbyshire's 356 all out. Derbyshire's last two wickets added 33 to secure a fourth batting point with Charlie Morris taking his fifth wicket when he had Alex Hughes lbw playing across the line for 74.

Cloudy skies suggested batting would be harder than on the first day and Worcestershire did well to reach lunch only one wicket down as Footitt and Tony Palladino, who conceded only 26 runs from 17 overs, bowled testing spells.

Although the floodlights were on, conditions were still not easy for batting and both Mitchell and Fell were beaten a number of times after Richard Oliver got a leading edge in the third over and was caught and bowled by Footitt, who conceded only 13 runs in his opening six over burst.

The fact only 46 came from 20 overs showed how difficult batting was and it got no easier in the afternoon as Footitt beat Fell repeatedly outside the off stump. Mitchell looked more secure but should have gone on 40 when he sliced a drive at Alex Hughes to gully where Billy Godleman juggled the ball but could not hold on.

The pair battled through the second session, scoring 80 in 34 overs, but Footitt changed the complexion of the game in the space of three overs after tea. Mitchell had shown good judgement until he left the third ball after the interval and was bowled for 67 and two balls later, Alexei Kervezee, who had scored hundreds in his previous three Championship matches against Derbyshire, was caught behind for a duck.

Tom Kohler-Cadmore carved Footitt to point and when Wayne White clipped the top of Ben Cox's off-stump, Worcestershire were 169 for 5 and still 38 runs away from the follow-on target of 207.

Fell defied the bowlers for more than four-and-a-half hours but when Derbyshire turned to the spin of David Wainwright, he chipped his first ball to midwicket where substitute fielder Scott Elstone took a low catch.

Joe Leach, who was struck on the back of the helmet by White, and Shaaiq Choudry averted the follow-on before Derbyshire claimed the second new ball shortly before the end of another good day for the home side.

"With the overhead conditions, it did a bit more than yesterday and credit to Derbyshire, they bowled really well, put the ball in the right areas and made life very difficult for us," Worcestershire captain Mitchell said.

"It was a case of survival, there wasn't much to feed off and Footy [Footitt] bowled a fantastic first spell with pace and swing. We are obviously behind the game at the moment but hopefully we can get some runs in the morning and then try and bowl Derbyshire out cheaply."

White, who has returned to Derbyshire on loan from Lancashire, added: "Footy caught fire in that after-tea spell and any lead on that wicket will be good because there's plenty going on, up and down bounce and it looks to be getting more uneven so chasing anything over 250 might be a tricky task.

"It's good to get back in with the Derby lads and my home club. We had a few frustrating spells, plenty went past the bat but more importantly we kept it really tight and five wickets in that last session has set us up for tomorrow."

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Andre Adams signs short Hampshire deal

Andre Adams has signed a three-month contract with Hampshire for the first part of the 2015 season as he begins to move from his playing career into coaching.

It brings to an end an eight-year stay with Nottinghamshire where he has become one of most consistent seam bowlers in the County Championship even with a creaking body in recent times which has needed careful management to get him through key matches.

There had been a thought that Nottinghamshire would try to persuade him to stay for one more year at Trent Bridge, but he will now see out his time trying to make a final appearance this season with the county who remain in the hunt for the Championship title.

"The intention was to finish my professional career here but I've got a small gap at the start of next season in my coaching regime which is three months to do what I want," Adams said. "The opportunity to work in a different club and environment is a massive part of my learning curve. I'll get to put things into play that I've learned here and at Auckland. It'll allow me to grow.

"It's a selfish move for me, but I need to take those opportunities. It has been great for me here but everything has to end. Sometimes you forget that as a professional sportsman, your career has to come to an end and my time with Notts is over as of September."

With the potential of another two appearances for Nottinghamshire should his body allow it, Adams currently sits on 344 first-class wickets for them at 24.18 including 16 five-wicket hauls and three 10-wicket match tallies. His most prolific season was 2010 when he claimed 68 wickets at 22.61 to help Nottinghamshire to the Championship title, which was followed by 67 the following season.

Giles White, Hampshire's director of cricket, said: "Andre has an excellent record and will add quality and experience to the bowling attack. We hope he has an impact both on and off the pitch during the first half of the 2015 season."

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Edwards leads England canter

England Women 91 for 1 (Edwards 62*) beat South Africa Women 89 for 4 (van Niekerk 36) by nine wickets
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Highlights: England romp to nine-wicket win over South Africa in first women's T20I

England took the first honours in the Twenty20 series with a comfortable nine-wicket victory at Chelmsford having restricted South Africa to 89 for 4. The chase was dominated, as has so often been the case, by Charlotte Edwards who struck a 47-ball fifty which gave a sold out 5000-strong crowd plenty to cheer after an insipid effort by the visitors.

For Edwards, it was a continuation of the form she showed in the one-day series against India where she made 57 and an unbeaten 108 to lead England to a 2-0 success after the dispiriting loss of the Test match at Wormsley. Her tenth boundary, clipped through the leg side, secured victory with a handsome 39 deliveries to spare.

South Africa's innings never found any significant tempo; their Powerplay score was 23 for 1 and throughout the 20 overs they managed just seven fours. Dane van Niekerk top-scored with 36 but it took her 54 deliveries although, especially early in the innings, it was less about the quality of stroke for South Africa but more about placement as they regularly picked out the tight off-side field.

The boundary was out closer to the 65-metre limit - they can be in as far as 55 metres - which was perhaps a tactic from England who were out-powered at the World Twenty20 in Bangladesh this year when they did not hit a single six. Coupled with accurate bowling, South Africa's batting was stymied.

Katherine Brunt made the first breakthrough when she found the edge of Trisha Chetty and though the next wicket did not come for 12 overs England never lost control of the scoring. Arguably the biggest scare came when Sarah Taylor, attempting one of her premeditated grabs off a reverse sweep, almost took a ball in the face to suggest it would be wise for her to wear a helmet when standing up to the stumps even though she has previously found it uncomfortable.

With the innings creeping along, van Niekerk was bowled attempting a reverse sweep, Lizelle Lee was run out and captain Mignon du Preez was well caught by Lydia Greenway.

The only wicket to fall in England's chase was Lauren Winfield who was run out in a dismissal that did not leave either her or Edwards overly impressed. Edwards had dabbed the ball into the off side and as Winfield reacted to the call, the bowler Moseline Daniels ran across from her follow-through towards the off side, cutting in front of Winfield. The momentary interruption meant Winfield could not make her ground to beat a direct hit. Daniels, however, was well within her rights to try and field the ball and Winfield had to accept her frustration.

The rest of the match was a canter for Edwards and Taylor. South Africa tried eight bowlers with little impact as Edwards put on a skilful display of strokeplay - regularly picking the gaps through the leg side, both through and over the field - but even she may hope that her team are tested a little more in the remaining two outings.

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Robson rues missed opportunities

Robson proud of first England summer

Sam Robson admitted there had been a few "missed opportunities" for him to silence all the debate about whether he is the long-term solution as a Test opener for England, but was content with how he had handled his first spell at international level and will take plenty of "special" memories with him into the winter.

As England fought back comprehensively to take the Test series against India 3-1 - capped with a three-day, innings-and-244-run trouncing at The Oval - after being 1-0 down following an horrendous performance at Lord's, Robson arguably headed the list of players who finished the Test campaign with a question mark, rather than a tick next to their name as England enter their lengthy absence from the five-day game before the Caribbean tour in April.

His tally against India was 165 runs at 23.57 and for the seven Tests in the season it read 336 at 30.54 that included his maiden hundred against Sri Lanka at Headingley. But after reaching three figures in just his third innings and following that with 71 at Trent Bridge he started to struggle against India's seamers.

When he negotiated the first evening at The Oval, alongside Alastair Cook, to walk off with a solid 33 to his name he appeared to have set himself the base to put a more definitive stamp on his season. But five balls in the second day he was bowled by Varun Aaron and England's subsequent demolition job meant he did not get another chance.

"I got myself in a position where I could have gone on with it - in Southampton and then at The Oval, getting through that first evening - so I suppose there were a few missed opportunities but you look back and a lot went our way so it was a pretty positive feeling," Robson told ESPNcricinfo.

"It was such a special couple months. I didn't play as well I would have liked in my first Test against Sri Lanka but put it right in the next Test with 120-odd and then to back that up at Trent Bridge, I was pretty happy with that.

"I would have liked a big score in there towards the end of the series to back up a decent start, but it wasn't to be. Having said that to walk away from your first Test summer with a hundred and a series win, and a convincing one, was pretty special. The hundred gave me the belief I could perform but you have to score runs week in, week out so that's my next challenge."

As the runs dried up towards the end of the Test series, there was the technical analysis of Robson's game with issues dissected ranging from a weakness around off stump to a tendency to be trapped on the crease but it was also often said how intense he appeared at the crease.

But Robson said he played no differently for England than he had done for Middlesex during the time when he was scoring the volume of runs to force the selectors' hand and he insisted he will continue to play in the same way.

"I don't think I'm the most intense character off the field, but that's the way I play on the field," he said, speaking at the Investec Inner City World Cup at Lord's. "I've got my own idiosyncrasies but it's been the way I've played for Middlesex and has worked for me. At the top level people will have their views, but that's the beauty of it and why we want to play Test cricket in the spotlight. I'll just be sticking with what's worked for me."

As one of few Test-only players within the England set-up, Robson will now finish the 2014 season in the Championship for Middlesex that will provide the chance to end with a flourish. He will then face a lengthy wait - likely to be interspersed with a Lions tour of South Africa in the New Year - before finding out whether his own confidence in the summer is reflected by the selectors when they pick the squad to tour West Indies. But before then he is looking for to some time off.

"It has been a big couple of years for me, a massive summer and there's still an important month left with Middlesex," he said. "The Test matches have been draining so I think this will be a good chance, once the season is done, to take a couple of months away from the game, recharge my batteries and go from there."

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England face dilemma in fine tuning attack

With Chris Jordan blowing more cold than hot, England could turn to Steven Finn or Harry Gurney at Trent Bridge but both present their own issues

Hope Cook and I feed off each other - Hales

The ability to play tunes on your teeth, which occasionally found its way onto the bottom of the bill in the old Music Halls, is now most commonly seen from bored teenagers on YouTube. England's bowling coach, David Saker, has so far only been seen scratching his, but he might well be playing a tune or two by the end of the Royal London one-day series if England's pace bowlers give him any more cause for angst.

If Saker does rap out a tune on his molars then Elvis Presley's Trouble might be a good place to start. "If you are looking for trouble, you came to the right place" is a suitable warning as England consider the attributes of the three pace bowlers thought to be contesting the final place in the third Royal London ODI against India at Trent Bridge.

Saker's teeth scratching on the England balcony was caught by the TV cameras during India's trouncing of England at Cardiff as Chris Jordan purveyed an over including five leg-side wides. He bowled 12 in all, treating his loss of line firstly with smiles and then with baffled shakes of the head.

That Jordan blows hot and cold is something England might have to get used to. The question is how hot and how cold. His technical oddity in which he often places an additional finger behind the ball has always been with him and has been blamed for occasional forays down the leg side. One or two can be forgiven as long as his hot spells continue, but 12 wides is more than England would want their entire attack to bowl in a series.

The defence for Jordan is that to some extent MS Dhoni was old-manning him by moving across to the off side as he prepared to release, but if that sometimes made his line look more exaggerated, it did not make the calls of wide any less justifiable. Jordan lost his line at a critical time and was wayward enough, in normal circumstances, for his place to be jeopardised as a result.

The issue for England is that the potential replacements, Harry Gurney and Steven Finn, have had issues of their own. Finn's have been well chronicled - the collapse of his action in Australia last winter which meant that he did not play a single Test and left the tour early for remedial work on his action back at Middlesex.

Finn's progress throughout the county summer has been solid, if unspectacular. By mid-July, he was able to discuss it for the first time, telling ESPNcricinfo that he began to over-analyse every aspect of his action and that Saker, who is generally regarded as a tactical rather than a technical coach, was unable to find a solution.

At some point in this series, England surely must play Finn. There has been so much emphasis upon stable planning, particularly when the subject turns to the one-day captaincy of Alastair Cook, that it has been overlooked that the build-up to the World Cup offers England not just the chance to plan, but the chance to discover.

If there is a limited appetite for discovery when it comes to England's batsmen, such a policy is essential for Finn. England's next one-day series is against Sri Lanka in November and December and that is hardly the easiest place for an out-and-out fast bowler to make an impression. To take Finn to Australia - the scene of his technical torment - in January for the tri-series against Australia and India still not road-tested would be a failure of planning and, if his problems recurred, would throw England's plans into disarray a few weeks before the World Cup. Only by thrusting Finn into the pressure of international cricket can England measure the extent of his recovery.

That leaves Harry Gurney, who would add variety to England's attack by virtue of being a left-armer and who would also be a natural call-up on his home ground at Trent Bridge. Gurney played in England's Spring ODIs, making his debut against Scotland in Aberdeen, playing five ODIs against Sri Lanka and returning nine wickets at 22.55. He hit his yorkers more reliably, but there is a lot that could go wrong in such an idiosyncratic action.

But Gurney's form has not been short of concerns. He was unimpressive during Nottinghamshire's Royal London domestic campaign and in his last outing disappeared at eight an over against Warwickshire, a match Nottinghamshire won thanks to one of four recent one-day hundreds for Alex Hales. His net sessions have not made an irresistible case for his recall.

It is a tough choice for England. That Jordan has displayed star quality is incontestable. Finn must be given a chance to prove himself. Gurney has logical hopes of a recall in front of his home crowd. Outside the squad, Northants' allrounder David Willey has not entirely given up hope of making a late push. Which one to recommend? Even now. Saker's teeth must be beginning to grind.

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WI name 13-man squad for first Bangladesh Test

The new WICB selection panel led by Clive Lloyd has named a 13-man Test squad for the West Indies ahead of the first of two Test matches against Bangladesh beginning on September 5 in St Vincent. The only change to the squad from the West Indies' previous Test assignment against New Zealand in June was dropping reserve batsman Leon Johnson while all other players have been retained.

In the release announcing the squad, the WICB noted that two other players were considered for selection but instead opted to play in the Champions League Twenty20 competition which begins September 13 in Raipur, India. Since the tournament is in an ICC-approved window on the international schedule, the WICB said the decision of the players will not have any impact on future selection.

Aside from representatives in the Caribbean Premier League champion Barbados Tridents squad, seven other West Indies players are participating in the Champions League Twenty20. Among those possibly in line for Test selection out of that group are Sunil Narine and Dwayne Bravo.

Narine was not considered for selection for all three Tests against New Zealand in June after opting to play for the Kolkata Knight Riders in the IPL Final on June 1. It caused him to miss the start of a West Indies training camp ahead of the first Test starting on June 8. It paved the way for both Shane Shillingford and Sulieman Benn to make their returns to Test cricket during the series.

Earlier this summer, Bravo expressed his desire to return to the Test cricket following recovery from a shoulder injury suffered at the start of this year's IPL. The West Indies ODI captain has not played Test cricket since 2010 on tour in Sri Lanka.

West Indies squad: Denesh Ramdin (capt), Chris Gayle, Kraigg Brathwaite, Kirk Edwards, Darren Bravo, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Jermaine Blackwood, Kemar Roach, Jerome Taylor, Jason Holder, Shannon Gabriel, Sulieman Benn, Shane Shillingford.

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Billings lights up Kent's big night

Kent 242 (Northeast 78, Billings 61, Payne 5-44) beat Gloucestershire 218 (Roderick 43, Harmison 3-40) by 24 runs
Scorecard

Highlights: Kent seal tight win to advance to semis

Kent were not to be denied. As Gloucestershire added 93 for the last four wickets, nerves were stretched tight and the crowd shouted themselves hoarse. With 32 required from 23 balls, Ben Harmison could not hold a diving, one-handed catch a long-off. Benny Howell was the batsman to survive but he was bowled off the final delivery of Mitch Claydon's over, leaving Gloucestershire nine down.

When Rob Key stooped to take a catch off Craig Miles from the first ball of the 48th over, cheers rang around the ground, only for the third umpire to rule that he could not be sure it was cleanly taken. Two balls later, David Griffiths broke the bails of last man David Payne and victory was sealed.

The plight of the British seaside town has been brought into focus this week by confirmation that Ukip leader Nigel Farage will stand for parliamentary election in South Thanet, the constituency adjacent to Canterbury and Whistable. It is tempting to see this decline as in some ways mirroring county cricket's struggle for relevancy - both are pleasures from simpler times - but at the St Lawrence Ground, just a few miles from Farage's prospective Ramsgate base, it was possible to witness something resembling hope.

Kent were one-day kings during the '70s, which was about when it was last cool to spend your holidays messing about with a bucket and spade. They have not won a lot since but reached the semi-finals of the inaugural Royal London Cup with a 24-run win. Farage was spotted at the Tunbridge Wells festival earlier this season, though it is unknown whether the association is mutual. It seems unlikely that real ale and the fight against EU bureaucracy are central to the philosophy of Jimmy Adams' side.

The whirlwind batting of Sam Billings certainly is and his rambunctious 61 made Kent's wicketkeeper the third-highest scorer in this season's competition. It was the most fluent innings of the night by a comfortable majority, as both sides battled on a treacle surface that did not benefit from a cloudburst before the start of play.

Gloucestershire began with a flurry of boundaries from Chris Dent but, in their haste to make a statement, got ahead of themselves. With the assorted mysteries of Ben Harmison, Darren Stevens and Fabian Cowdrey - as well as the more classical merits of Adam Riley's offspin - ranged against them, the visitors slipped to 125 for 6 at just past the halfway point of their chase.

A stand of 53 between Will Gidman, the folk hero who is set to leave Gloucestershire for the bright lights of Nottingham next season, and Howell ensured home nerves remained taught but Griffiths followed a run of three successive wides by yorking Gidman. Without Michael Klinger, their overseas player and captain who broke an arm in last week's final group game, this was a chase too far for the last side remaining from Group A.

Billings has thrived on the return of 50-over cricket, averaging over 100 at a frankly indecent strike rate of 162.64. With a golden blond quiff and schoolboy grin, he radiates energy. Billings is from Pembury, near Tunbridge Wells, but played the sort of shots that would put creases in the locals' freshly starched linen.

His half-century came from 29 balls, with Dent's left-arm spin twice crunched over the midwicket boundary. He was lucky not to drag the ball on to his stumps in the following over, bowled by Jack Taylor; he proceeded to launch a six like a mortar round over long-on, followed by a rubber-wristed reverse-sweep for four. Billings is packing heat, that much is clear, though England do not want for an explosive keeper-batsman right now.

For both these sides, the Royal London Cup represented an opportunity to gloss another season of bobbing along in the quieter reaches of the county circuit. Kent are the only Division Two Championship side left in the competition. The prospect of a first knockout semi-final in five years and, potentially, a trip to Lord's thereafter should add frisson to the final few weeks.

Kent were without Doug Bollinger, who has returned to Australia ahead of the Champions League, and James Tredwell, on England duty. Suggestions that Tredwell has asked to be released from his contract and allowed to join Sussex, where he has been on loan for Championship cricket, were rebuffed by the club.

In preparation for this match, Kent had fielded a strong XI against New Zealand A earlier in the week. They were dismissed for 67, their second-lowest score in List A cricket, to lose by 172 runs. Nevertheless, Key chose to bat on winning the toss, only to become the first of two wickets in two balls for Payne. A score of 11 for 2 in the fifth over did not augur well for the chances of Kent posting something more substantial.

Key was back in the side after missing most of the campaign with a hamstring problem, replacing Daniel Bell-Drummond. After his brief return, it was left to vice-captain Sam Northeast and 21-year-old Cowdrey - the name of whose grandfather, Colin, looks down from the stands - to repair the early damage. Northeast is developing into an increasingly proficient limited-overs cricketer and played tidily for 78 but, perhaps inflamed by Billings' bloodlust, missed a straight ball attempting an ungainly swipe as Kent lost their last six wickets for 27 runs.

Will Gidman was treated disdainfully by Northeast and Cowdrey but he removed the latter when a ball stopped in the pitch, after a stand worth 106. Alex Gidman took the catch, a moment for the brothers to savour. There will not be many more.

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Bailey defends Lyon exclusion

George Bailey, Australia's stand-in captain, defended his team's decision to leave Nathan Lyon out of their playing XI against South Africa, insisting that the offspinner's absence "did not turn the match".

Without Lyon, the part-time spin of Steven Smith and Glenn Maxwell leaked 40 runs in five overs and the seam attack fared little better as centuries from AB de Villiers and Faf du Plessis helped South Africa to a seven-wicket win.

"I certainly think 327 could have been enough, but knowing that it's a pretty good wicket and only having four out and two new balls, it's always going to be a challenge," Bailey said. "You've got to keep trying to find a way to take wickets, and unfortunately we couldn't do that. I could have probably bowled our part timers a little more, or got them into the game a little earlier, but you can only have XI unfortunately."

The Harare Sports Club pitch played slow and low in the Test featuring South Africa and Zimbabwe earlier this month, and though it has quickened up a touch since then, it remains a track where the toss as well as the quick bowlers' variations once the shine comes off, remain important.

Australia were not helped by losing the toss and being sent in this morning, but Bailey admitted that their attempts to use bowling variations to temper du Plessis and de Villiers had fallen short.

"We tried taking the pace off the ball a little bit and it didn't seem to have too much effect at different times," he said. "There's no doubt that variation is going to be a key, and that's down to mixing up your pace and lengths, and how you bowl at different stages. But we've got to give a little bit of credit to Faf and AB, I thought they batted beautifully."

One thing Bailey and Australia will be pleased about is the performance of their top order in the series so far. Three batsmen passed fifty against Zimbabwe, while Phil Hughes complemented Aaron Finch in an opening stand of 92 before Finch went on to a century today.

"Hughesy batted really well, and particularly once we were sent in I thought that was a really important start for us. It was a little bit challenging at the start and I thought those guys got us off and running.

"They've been pretty consistent. Hughesy has had limited opportunities but keeps putting his hand up. Finchy seems to be getting better and better, and it was great to see him go on and turn that into a hundred today. That's something that we've spoken about, and he'd be pretty satisfied with that. I think that's the challenge for all of our top order players: to get hundreds. As you saw in the chase, it makes it so much easier when you get someone you can bat around for the majority of the innings."

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Kent blown away after Brownlie ton

New Zealand A 239 (Brownlie 112, Rutherford 56, Griffiths 3-49) beat Kent 67 (Craig 3-6) by 172 runs
Scorecard

Kent were bowled out for 67, their second-lowest score in List A cricket, as they lost to New Zealand A by 172 runs. The innings lasted for less than half the allotted overs and only two players, openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Rob Key, made double-figures.

The 50-over match had replaced the scheduled three-day fixture, after the first two days were washed out. Kent chose to deploy something approaching a full-strength side, in preparation for their Royal London Cup quarter-final on Friday, but Brendan Nash was unable to bat due to injury and the ten other batsmen failed to make much more of an impact on the scorecard.

New Zealand offspinner Mark Craig picked up three wickets in his three overs to finish the innings, after the pace trio of Hamish Bennett, Doug Bracewell and Matt Henry and shared the first six. At 56 for 7, Kent were in danger of being dismissed for less than the 60 they made against Somerset at Taunton in 1979.

After being asked to bat, the New Zealand A effort was founded on a stand of 124 in 20 overs for the second wicket between Hamish Rutherford and Dean Brownlie. Three wickets then fell for seven runs, during a typically miserly spell from Darren Stevens, but Brownlie went on to reach his second century of the tour before becoming a third victim for David Griffiths.

New Zealand A were dismissed with ten balls unbowled but their score of 239 was to prove more than enough. Kent will hope for a better performance when they take on Gloucestershire at home on Friday.

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