Tawanda Muyeye and Daniel-Bell Drummond set batting milestones as Kent dominated on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with hosts Northamptonshire at Wantage Road.
Zimbabwean Muyeye smote a stylish maiden first-class hundred complete with four huge sixes on his way to 179 while the more experienced Bell-Drummond inked in a new career best of 271 not out, eclipsing his 206 not out against Loughborough University at Canterbury seven years ago. Bell-Drummond’s individual tally set a record for a Kent batsman at Wantage Road, beating Frank Wooley’s 217 back in 1926.
The pair added 318 for the second wicket as the visitors piled up 550-5 by stumps, a lead of 313.
On what was a tough day for a weary-looking Northamptonshire attack, Alex Russell and Ben Sanderson emerged from the onslaught with two wickets apiece.
Bell-Drummond set the tone, on-driving the first ball of the day back past the stumps for four, but it wasn’t long before Muyeye took centre-stage.
The 22-year-old, who originally arrived on these shores with his mother as an asylum seeker, showed his promise as a schoolboy at Eastbourne where he set records for the number of runs scored (1112) and sixes hit (56) in his first season.
Initially with Sussex, he signed for Kent in 2021, scoring 89 against Middlesex at the end of that season as the hosts chased down a target of 375 in the fourth innings.
Nevertheless, with England man Zak Crawley at the top of the order, his opportunities have been limited, so this was only his 13th first-class appearance, but there would be nothing unlucky about it.
Muyeye picked up where he’d left off on day one, using the long levers of his tall slender frame to showcase an elegant technique mixed with power, dismissing a short one from Sanderson to the mid-wicket boundary before despatching long hops from Jack White and Alex Russell to the square leg fence.
A single to deep cover took him beyond that previous career-best against Middlesex and there were no nervous 90s either, a huge six over mid-on taking him to the brink of that maiden hundred which duly came minutes later courtesy of another half-tracker pulled to the fence.
Off came the helmet amid a joyous celebration from a talented young player who’d played with the exuberance of someone enjoying a Sunday afternoon game in the park with his mates. He celebrated the milestone with a glorious straight six off White which raised the 200-stand.
Bell-Drummond was less exuberant, but continued his rich vein of form in June, a 12th four carrying him to three figures in a wicketless first session for the hosts.
The pair forged on after the interval, Muyeye plundering a third six, he’d only hit one in first-class cricket before today. The stand moved beyond 300 and the 2nd wicket record against Northamptonshire of 382 set by Sean Dickson and Joe Denly looked in sight before the youngster mishit Russell into the hands of Sanderson at cover.
Such was the charm with which he’d played, that his departure took some of the sunshine out of the cricket, Denly and Jack Leaning falling cheaply either side of the second new ball, the latter to a sharply spinning delivery from Rob Keogh which bowled him through the gate.
Bell-Drummond though picked up the mantle, a glorious straight drive taking him past his previous Championship-best of 166. His first Championship double hundred complete with 20 fours came soon after tea, and four through mid-wicket off White enabled him to chalk up the new career-best landmark.
Jordan Cox kept him company either side of tea with an ebullient 41 in a stand of 106 before being castled by the persevering Sanderson.
Bell-Drummond however batted through to stump and a triple century beckons on day three.
Kent opener Tawanda Muyeye who got his maiden first class hundred said: “I’m relieved (to get the maiden century). I didn’t know when it was going to come. Obviously I’ve had a few starts, a few 80s, so to put it all together today and be as focused as I was a big thing for me and something to be confident about for the future.
“It has been mentally draining. I was desperate to get into the first team early in the season and used so much brain energy on that. To be able to carry on what I started in the 2s, hopefully I can keep going until September.
“I didn’t get any sleep last night because it was only the second time in my career I’ve been not out overnight. I went to my room at like 7pm hoping to get an early night, but only got to sleep about 3am. I was calmer on the field than in my bed last night.
“There was a message from my mum and I’m going to dedicate this hundred to my uncle who died of Cancer three years ago. It was his tombstone unveiling on Saturday and I could feel his energy around today.
“I’m short of words about Daniel (Bell-Drummond who finished 271 not out). We had so much fun out there. I don’t know how much cricket was being talked about, but it is always a pleasure to bat with him. It was a pretty special knock, and I probably had the best seat in the house for most of it.
“It has been a tough year for him and a lot of the batters so I’m happy for him. For him to come and do that and display such skill was special. He’s got a few more to get tomorrow and hopefully he can get that triple and put us in an even better position.”
Northamptonshire coach John Sadler said: “It was a very tough day really. Firstly, credit to their guys, I thought they played magnificently. Bell-Drummond he’s a very fine player and he has not even changed gears. He was playing the same tempo at the end as he was at the start of his innings yesterday. Both those guys who scored runs played incredibly well.
“It was a tough day but make no mistake we are behind the game because of the way we batted first dig. We should have got 350 we thought so we were 100 short and it is a different game with scoreboard pressure. You can keep men around the bat a little bit longer. We needed early wickets, we didn’t get them and they ground us down.
“We spoke about energy levels and passion from all of us today and I thought the lads were great and kept going but in terms of Alex he was great. He bowled some bad balls but you are going to get that as a young, inexperienced leg-spinner. Some of the balls he bowled he was unlucky not to get a couple more wickets.
“He’s playing his second game, got his first first-class wickets and he’ll continue to grow and get better and better.”