Centuries from Rob Key and Brendan Nash put Kent into a dominant position on day two of their Championship game with Surrey.
The experienced pair each made their first three-figure score of the season, both making 126, as Kent racked up a lead of 70 by the end of play, closing on 355-4.
Sam Northeast also made a welcome return to form with a half-century, as Kent’s batsmen made hay against the side relegated from Division One last year.
Key continued his rich history of performing strongly against Surrey; today’s knock was his eighth County Championship hundred against them, as the home batsmen played positively and scored quickly throughout the day. Key also passed 18,000 First Class runs during his innings; a fantastic achievement for a magnificent servant to Kent Cricket.
Resuming on 276-8, the visitors were able to add just nine runs to their overnight score before finding themselves all out for 285, as Mitch Claydon and Doug Bollinger dismissed Stuart Meaker (19) and Jade Dernbach (1) respectively. Having won the toss and chosen to bat yesterday, Surrey would have been disappointed with their total, particularly after many of their middle-order batsmen had made starts but failed to go on to really make a game-changing score, and especially after seeing the Kent top order’s batting efforts.
Having managed a highest opening partnership of just 31 during their first two Championship games, Sam Northeast and Rob Key would have been well aware that a strong start to the innings could help Kent into a healthy position.
That was just what they supplied, with both men looking assured with the bat in hand and scoring quickly. Northeast brought up his half-century before the lunch break, which Kent reached at 85-0, and had made 53 before he was dismissed early in the second session, superbly caught by a diving Aneesh Kapil, running in from the boundary rope, as he attempted to hook Stuart Meaker. An opening partnership of 101 had set Kent up well for the rest of their innings, however.
Daniel Bell-Drummond joined Key in the middle, and having reached the 18,000 FC runs landmark, the captain went to his fifty not long afterwards. Bell-Drummond had scored 11 when he shouldered arms and had his off-stump sent cartwheeling by Matt Dunn, leaving Kent 131-2.
Brendan Nash was the next man in, and along with Key helped to put Surrey to the sword. The pair batted with little fuss, scoring at a good rate, and finding the boundary at regular intervals. Nash became the third of Kent’s top four to make a half-century, as the home side added 136 runs in the afternoon, leaving them 221-2 and just 64 runs behind Surrey going into the final session.
Key and Nash picked up where they left off after the break, scoring quickly and finding the boundary all-too-regularly for the Surrey bowlers’ liking; adding 57 runs in the 10 overs after tea. Key brought up his 52nd First Class hundred with a magnificent straight drive back down the ground, greeted with a well-deserved standing ovation from all at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.
Scoring at an even quicker rate than his captain, and not long after a four over the bowler’s head from Key had taken Kent into the lead, Nash too moved to three figures. His landmark came up from just 125 balls and was an excellent innings of real quality.
Nash had made 126 when his partnership of 197 with Key was finally ended; the former West Indian international caught behind while off Zafar Ansari, bringing to an end a knock that had featured 20 boundaries, including one huge six over midwicket. The partnership between Nash and Key also came with a more-than-healthy run rate of 4.74.
Key joined Nash back in the pavilion before the close of play, he too having made 126; removed by Meaker four overs before the close, caught on the off-side by Dominic Sibley.
Ben Harmison and Darren Stevens came together with the score 350-4, and were able to steer their side through to the close with a lead of 70.
Kent will be looking to stretch their lead on the morning of the third day, as they look to kickstart their season with what would be an important victory.
Stumps, day two: Kent vs. Surrey, LV= County Championship Division Two, The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury, 4-7 May 2014:
Kent 355-4 (Key 126, Nash 126, Meaker 2-69) lead Surrey 285 (Roy 60, Riley 4-77) by 70 runs with six first innings wickets remaining
Kent: Northeast, Key*, Bell-Drummond, Nash, Harmison, Stevens, Billings†, Ball, Claydon, Bollinger, Riley.
Surrey: Smith: Burns, Smith*, Sibley, Ansari, Davies†, Roy, Harinath, Kapil, Meaker, Dunn, Dernbach.
Surrey won the toss and elected to bat.
Bonus points: Kent 7, Surrey 3
Full scorecard available here
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