County Championship: Northants start well after Kent declaration

Daniel Bell-Drummond and Harry Finch both made centuries for Kent on day two of their County Championship match with Northamptonshire at Canterbury but the match looks headed for a draw.

The visitors had reached 140-1 at stumps, a deficit of 426, with Ricardo Vasconcelos unbeaten on 87 and Calvin Harrison 41 not out. Matt Quinn took the only wicket, getting Luke Procter for eight.

Earlier, Kent declared on 556-8, Bell-Drummond hitting 158 in a stand of 208 with Finch, who made 118. Liam Guthrie took 3-29, but Northants’ bowlers laboured throughout with the Kookaburra ball and Kent’s attack did not fare much better.

The visitors actually started the day with an early wicket when Joey Evison, 29 not out overnight, departed for 37 in the fourth over – after driving Guthrie for a textbook four through mid-off, he was caught behind off the next delivery.

That, however, was the high point for the visitors, whose chief tormentor was all too familiar.

Bell-Drummond hit an unbeaten triple century at Northampton in 2023 and he reached three figures by scrambling for a single off Harrison.

Finch brought up his half-century in the next over when he went down the wicket to Yuzvendra Chahal and hit him for four over long on, as Kent reached 446-5 at lunch.

After refreshments, Finch reached his sixth first-class hundred when he pulled Saif Zaib to the backward square leg boundary for four and a single off Harrison took Bell-Drummond to 150 before he finally went, caught behind trying to sweep Zaib.

Finch went in the next over, trying to reverse sweep Harrison and falling to a sharp one-handed grab by Justin Broad at first slip, but Kent batted on until Matt Parkinson was lbw for four trying to sweep the same bowler.

Kent declared, tea was taken and Quinn, having missed all of last season and broken down nine balls into pre-season, marked his return to the first team by getting Procter debatably caught behind in the seventh over.

It was an isolated success. Vasconcelos raced to 50 from 51 balls and although Kent followed Northamptonshire’s lead in at least managing to slow the scoring rate slightly, it felt like the only way a batter would get out was by chucking their wicket away – neither did.

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