A series of starts took Kent to a respectable second innings to add pressure onto Glamorgan’s day four chase.
Harry Finch’s 68 and Grant Stewart’s counter-attacking 63 dragged Kent back into the contest after a first innings collapse hindered their chances against Glamorgan. Partnerships of 84 and 68 for the fifth and sixth wicket, respectively took the visitors to 360 – without full use of injured Joe Denly to enforce a nervous task of chasing 189 after first innings dominance from the hosts.
Kent bowlers were in high spirits, taking two wickets in an aggressive spell of 14 overs continuing their day in the driving seat to leave the Welsh county 25 for 2, requiring 164 from the final day. Chris Cooke and Timm van der Gugten’s batting capabilities remain uncertain after both being off the field for the entire day.
From 106 for 1 overnight and beginning a fightback to the Glamorgan first innings dominance, Ben Compton and Chris Benjamin started conservatively in the knowledge that they’d need to bat all day to produce a competitive day four.
Trying to be cute with a paddle-sweep by way of releasing the shackles from 10 off 43 inside the first hour, Compton fell, gifting a wicket to the otherwise forceless Glamorgan. Compton falling short of a half-century (and his 1000-run season milestone) foreshadowed the remainder of the top order.
Daniel Bell-Drummond found a start in similar fashion to the morning tempo before falling, resenting the umpire’s decision of caught behind attempting to hook a bouncer that ballooned to sub-keeper Alex Horton. The second dismissal of the morning allowed Joey Evison to dismiss a Ben Kellaway loosener to give Kent the lead at 175 for 3.
The theme of Kent losing their wickets rather than Glamorgan taking the wickets by force continued. Benjamin dragged on a wide half-volley before Evison chipped a standard, probing Zain Ul Hassan delivery of medium-pace to short-cover – the third batter to fall in the forties. Glamorgan’s usual fifth seamer stepping up as the pick of the bowlers in van der Gugten’s absence while eighth bowler Kiran Carlson claimed 3 for 24 after his introduction in the 105th over.
After a much-needed partnership from Evison and Finch before the all-rounder’s untimely dismissal on 49, Finch, together with the newfound aggression of Stewart kept the momentum going against the ungiving Kookaburra ball with stand-in captain Carlson having numerous exchanges about changing the ball throughout the day.
The pair’s half-centuries, making the most of the life given to Stewart on one where he was dropped at slip by Carlson off Kellaway, gave the visitors a fighting chance until further soft dismissals brought a premature end to the innings; Matt’s Parkinson and Quinn both recording pairs succeeding Stewart bringing up a half-century with three consecutive sixes off Carlson who had been proving to be Glamorgan’s golden arm.
The seemingly flat pitch showed some life in the gloomy evening conditions, both Carlson and nightwatcher James Harris took the brunt of Wes Agar giving his all after both openers were dismissed.
Glamorgan captain Kiran Carlson:
“It’s a good position I think. We did a really good job bowling them out when the wicket was pretty flat and they batted well to make us work hard for it.
“When the ball gets soft and the wicket’s good, it’s hard to force the agenda so hopefully that’s good for us.
“It’s nice to have a chase on the last day but it’s going to be tricky with the ball spinning but we’ve got plenty in the tank.
“(The closing stages were) a part of the game I really enjoy, when you’re under pressure it’s tough but it was nice to get through with Jimmy (Harris) and hopefully we can put on a decent partnership.”
Kent’s Grant Stewart:
“We set out to bat to bat for most of the day, Benji (Benjamin) gritted it out and there were a lot of good partnerships with Joey and Finchy so we managed to accomplish what we set out to do and find ourselves in a pretty decent position.
“Everyone’s found it hard to start then it’s potentially a bit easier as you get going, but I was the beneficiary of some really hard work by the top order.
“Big Wes has been awesome with good pace and a bit of uneven bounce, so he’s going to be a nightmare and we’re happy with the position we’re in.
“We’re really looking to get another win because it’s been a little while (since April).”
Picture supplied by Huw Evans Picture Agency.