Kent batter Daniel Bell-Drummond became only the third man to score 300 or more runs in one innings for Kent, after amassing 300 not out against Northamptonshire helping his side to victory.

The right-hander added 97 runs to his previous first-class best score, 206* against Loughborough MCCU in 2016, to reach 300* on Day Three at The County Ground Northampton, having reach a century in 178 balls, 200 in 314 balls, & his 300 stand in 439 deliveries, spending a total of 531 minutes batting in the LV= Insurance County Championship match.

The Kent Cricket Academy product joins Bill Ashdown, who recorded two triple hundreds in his first-class career (332 vs. Essex in 1934 & 305* vs. Derbyshire in 1935) & Sean Dickson, who made 318 against Northamptonshire at The County Ground, Beckenham in 2017.

Bell-Drummond now has Kent’s fourth-highest first-class score of all time, behind the aforementioned Ashdown & Dickson, but ahead of the likes of Kent icon Les Ames (295 vs. Gloucestershire in 1933) & current Men’s Head Coach, Matt Walker, who scored 275 not out against Somerset at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence in 1996.

It is now the fifth highest score of all time at the County Ground, Northampton, and the highest from any opposition player.

His 300 included 26 fours and one six, and ended with the 29-year-old carrying his bat through the innings – batting alongside every other Kent cricketer in the Playing XI.

Having made history, Bell-Drummond spoke of his pride and how he wanted to stay in this rich vein of form:

“It’s an amazing feeling – I’ve never felt like this in my career and I’m still on cloud nine. I’ll definitely have a drink tonight and enjoy the moment. Everyone wants to do it but I never thought it was coming.

“I’m glad I was able to stick to my plans and not give my wicket away. That’s how I grew up playing – I really valued my wicket and I’m glad I was able to do that in this game.

“Yesterday (Monday) I was more in the zone, head down and really focused on every ball but, speaking to a lot of friends and family and what it meant to them, I was more nervous this morning trying to get the 29 more runs I needed.

“It couldn’t have been a better day for me. Hopefully I’ll move forward with my career now and keep scoring runs in all forms. I’ve had a few tough periods this season and in my career, so I was definitely going to make the most of it.”

Somerset’s Sean Dickson, who scored 318 for Kent against Northamptonshire at The County Ground, Beckenham in 2017, said: “It’s fantastic to see ‘Deebs’ get to 300.

“I still stay in contact with Daniel on a regular basis. It’s so well deserved – with the amount of time and hard work he puts in, I’m over the moon for him.

“I know he’s a very popular guy in the Kent dressing room so this will be celebrated sufficiently!”