Kent’s Sam Billings and Calum Haggett shone for the visitors on an uninterrupted day two of this County Championship match at The Oval.
Billings with a Kent and Championship best 99 and Haggett with a personal best 80 as they put on a record seventh wicket partnership against Surrey of 151 in a total of 336.
The hosts acquitted themselves well as debutant Sam Curran took 5/101 and Arun Harinath and Kumar Sangakkara were 76no and 34no respectively at the close of play.
The hosts started the better, the natural light ably supported by the floodlights, as James Burke struck early – Darren Stevens (9) going for a leg-side delivery, found himself caught behind by Ben Foakes – Kent not getting their desired start at 137/5.
Surrey bowled well giving little away as eight overs and only seventeen runs later Ben Harmison (17) was trapped LBW by Sam Curran (154/6). Such was the battle for runs that with the first hour of play wrapped up, Kent had amassed 156/6 – twenty-four runs from fourteen overs.
However it was all to change as wicketkeeper Sam Billings and all-rounder Calum Haggett joined forces to stabilise and push the Kent scorecard towards much needed batting points. Despite that slow opening hour Kent suddenly found room to play shots and struck three boundaries in only eight deliveries. Haggett soon took a single shortly before lunch to signify fifty runs for the session for the visitors with Kent then taking lunch at 199/6 (Billings 37no, Haggett 18no – partnership 45).
With lunch, the pendulum swung the way of the visitors. Tom Curran duly gave Kent their first batting point as a short and subsequently high bouncer was called a no-ball as Billings and Haggett got to work on deliveries rarely seen in the opening session.
The second over after lunch proved rewarding as Billings struck three successive balls through the covers for four each, firstly bringing up the fifty partnership and lastly the ‘keeper’s half century and by the end of the third post-lunch over, Kent had scored twenty-four runs – It had taken them the first hour of play to score the same number.
With Surrey bringing on the slow bowlers Batty and Ansari, both batsmen rarely looked troubled as Billings planted a six off Ansari over long-on with Haggett soon cutting Batty for four to bring up Kent’s 250 and a second batting point whilst in the following over a sweep for four by Billings brought up the hundred partnership for the seventh wicket (260/6).
Haggett then struck a delightful straight drive past Ansari to bring up his fifty (103 balls, 7x4s), a gritty and invaluable innings having come in at 154/6.
In the space of four overs, milestones, records and an unfortunately timed dismissal ensued. Kent brought up three hundred and a third batting point, a seventh wicket stand of one-fifty (Billings 97no, Haggett 60no) and then Billings was agonisingly out LBW bowled Sam Curran for 99 – An innings by Billings showing great maturity and good character and his highest score for Kent in the County Championship.
The partnership with Haggett ended on 151 – A Kent seventh wicket club record stand against Surrey surpassing Geraint Jones’ (61) and Alex Blake’s (96) 138 at The Oval in 2011 – Kent 305/7.
With the loss of the marathon seventh-wicket stand Kent’s valiant efforts succumbed shortly before tea as James Tredwell (3) was bowled by Tom Curran (308/8), Matt Coles (8) fell to a Sam Curran leg-side delivery caught behind by Foakes (331/9) and Calum Haggett’s and Kent’s innings closed on 80 and 336 respectively when caught in the slips by Sri Lankan Kumar Sangakarra off Sam Curran – Haggett’s highest score in first class cricket whilst Sam Curran took five wickets on debut.
Surrey’s openers took to the wicket to face thirty-three overs in the day. Kent’s desired dream start to take early wickets failed to materialise as openers Rory Burns and Harinath helped themselves to an indifferent opening spell by Matt Coles (3-0-27-0) with little causing either batsmen much difficulty, duly bringing up their fifty at the end of the tenth over.
Sam Northeast used the bowling options available to him namely Haggett and Tredwell and although the variety slowed the run-scoring opportunities, wickets still provided hard to come by. However Coles came back on, this time at the Vauxhall End, and he got the breakthrough – Burns (31) caught in the slips by Adam Ball, Surrey 80/1.
Harinath glanced a Tredwell delivery to fine leg, bringing up his half century and Coles almost got two wickets in two overs as the opener swiped at a quicker ball outside off stump which the athletic and airborne Billings got a hand to but was unable to hang onto hold it – An extremely difficult chance for Kent’s wicketkeeper diving to his left towards the slip-cordon.
Harinath (68, 129/1) offered a half-chance and glimmer of hope to Kent as the day drew to a close but as Stevens found the edge, the ball fell just short of Tredwell at second slip. Stevens typically gave no respite, probing away at the batsmen causing them both difficulty but they saw it through safely to the end of play to do it all again in the morning.
Speaking at the end of the day’s play, wicketkeeper Sam Billings was disappointed not to have got a century for Kent:
“Of course, it was extremely disappointing to miss out on my first Championship hundred for Kent, but these things happen. You’d take 99 before the day’s play, and more pleasing was the fact that me and Calum Haggett got us back into the game.
“It was very tough to start with and I don’t think I hit one in the middle of the bat before lunch so massive credit to Tom Curran for his opening spell.
“It was one of those tough periods that we managed to get through and then earned the right to express ourselves a bit more after lunch. Calum is a proper all-rounder who will get better and better. I’m chuffed for him and his innings was as important as mine.
“We got ourselves back into the game and then kind of let it slip away again in the evening session. They did bat well but we bowled poorly.
“It’s a fair pitch. If you bowl well you get the rewards, as happened to Sam Curran.But if you bowl badly then you get punished. It was a proper day’s cricket and a very good advert for Championship cricket.”
Meanwhile, Sam Curran was delighted with his bowling performance for Surrey:
“I didn’t bowl as well as I would have liked yesterday so I reflected on that a little bit and talked to (brother) Tom. He talked about being patient and hitting my lengths and luckily it paid off for me today.
“I was probably a bit more nervous making my first-class debut yesterday than when I made my T20 debut, but I was excited as well. And opening the bowling with my brother was really special. Tom has had a good season so far so it was my turn to try to catch up a little bit.
“I was really happy to get that fifth wicket. The ball before got hit for four but then luckily the next one nipped away and he (Haggett) nicked off to slip. It was especially good have it caught by Kumar Sangakkara because he is a legend of the game.”
Surrey: ZS Ansari, RJ Burns, A Harinath, KC Sangakkara, DP Sibley, JJ Roy, BT Foakes†, JE Burke, GJ Batty*, TK Curran, SM Curran
Kent: DJ Bell-Drummond, JL Denly, SA Northeast*, BW Harmison, DI Stevens, SW Billings†, AJ Ball, CJ Haggett, JC Tredwell, MT Coles, MD Hunn
Kent: 336 (Billings 99, Haggett 80, Northeast 45; S. Curran 5/101, T. Curran 3/75)
Surrey: 144/1 (Harinath 76no, Sangakkara 34no; Coles 1/52)
Kent: 3
Surrey: 3