| LV= County Championship Division One, Spitfire Floor, Canterbury (day 4) |
| Lancashire 327: Bohannon 113, Hurst 76*; Nijjar 3-70 & 390-8 dec: Wells 117, Bailey 78, Jennings 74, Bohannon 68*; Leaning 3-67, Nijjar 3-97 |
| Kent 494: Denly 136, Compton 95; Balderson 4-69 |
| Kent (12 pts) draw with Lancashire (9 pts) |
| Match scorecard |
Kent secured their Division One security regardless of managing solely a ultimate day draw in opposition to Lancashire at Canterbury.
With seven bonus factors within the financial institution, Kent knew they might be secure if they may match Middlesex’s outcome in opposition to Nottinghamshire.
But it surely become a day of stomach-churning drama at Canterbury, when Notts misplaced eight wickets at Trent Bridge, the place Kent knew that an away win would have been sufficient to relegate them.
Followers and workers, not less than those that might stand to look at, duly crowded spherical laptops and good telephones.
Kent captain Jack Leaning prowled the balcony, and departing director of cricket Paul Downton stood grinning with the sheer stress of all of it.
However they lastly obtained the information they needed to listen to, when Notts breathlessly accomplished their two-wicket win.
Whereas Luke Wells led the way in which for Lancashire by finishing the twenty fourth first-class century of his profession, the Pink Rose additionally had three half-centurions of their 390-8 declared.
In Glen Chapple’s ultimate sport as head coach, skipper Keaton Jennings completed on 74 and Josh Bohannon made an unbeaten 68, however quick bowler Tom Bailey once more stole the present.
The Lancashire tail-ender hit 78 to lift his career-best rating for the third time this season.
He started the summer season with a better of 68 – in opposition to Northants at Outdated Trafford in 2019 – then obtained 75 in opposition to Warwickshire at Edgbaston in July. Then he made 77, once more in opposition to Northants, at first of September.
Lancashire end fifth within the ultimate desk, with Kent eighth, seven factors higher off than Middlesex, who will now be part of Northants in Division Two subsequent summer season.
Kent coach Matt Walker informed BBC Radio Kent:
“It wasn’t the best two hours of my life, watching that each one unfold.
“It is out of your management, utterly out of your fingers, it is the worst a part of the job. There’s nothing you are able to do about it, aside from sit and watch and hold your fingers crossed.”We thought we would should win not less than certainly one of these final three video games. Because it turned out, we’ve not needed to win any.
“However two actually good performances gave us sufficient factors to get our noses forward going into this week and we knew once we matched their bonus factors, that actually made it tougher for Middlesex.
“A number of credit score to them. They gave it a extremely good go and possibly deserved a bit higher. However I am glad of that back-end resistance by Notts. We additionally noticed it a few weeks in the past in opposition to us from Brett Hutton, which was painful on the time.
“I suppose aid is the overwhelming emotion. It is arduous to be too jubilant. We have simply held on and stayed up. From the place we had been a number of weeks in the past, that was the job to do and we have carried out it. We will breathe simple now.”
Kent captain Jack Leaning:
“I could not actually carry myself to look at it. I hate the unknown, I can take care of the great and the unhealthy however that bit in between is fairly shambolic.
“It is what makes sport so particular. If it was reduce and dry and one of the best groups at all times gained and the worst groups at all times misplaced nobody would ever watch it. Championship cricket has actually confirmed that this week. There’s been outcomes you would not count on and outcomes which have precipitated a substantial amount of drama in varied completely different dressing rooms across the nation.
“Fortunately Notts did us a favour, however we did ourselves a number of favours over these final three video games to choose up the factors we wanted and in the end we saved ourselves up. It is not simply Notts. It is us over the course of the season.
“We do not need to be preventing on the backside of the desk, however we’re in Division One and we have got the chance to begin afresh and push ourselves up the desk.”
Lancashire half-centurion Tom Bailey:
“I did not need to bowl once more to be sincere, particularly on a pitch like that. Me and Bosh (Josh Bohannon) simply obtained our heads down and soaked all of it up.
“For us, the sport did not actually matter, however I understand how that Kent had been seeing issues with the Middlesex v Notts sport trying prefer it was going to be a draw, it was a little bit of a bizarre technique to finish the season.
“It was my highest first-class rating by one run and I’ve carried out that a number of occasions this 12 months so I’ve obtained to purchase the boys one other spherical of drinks.
“100 would have been good however I stated to the boys afterwards I would slightly do it when there’s one thing on the road and hopefully that day will come sooner or later.”