Daniel Bell-Drummond’s highest County Championship score helped Kent to secure a draw with Essex on the final day at Canterbury.

Bell-Drummond, who has two First Class centuries to his name, both against universities, made a Championship-best 92, replacing his previous best of 79 made against Hampshire at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence last season.

It gave him his second half-century of the match, having also scored 56 in the first innings.

Essex’s Jesse Ryder, meanwhile, collected match figures of 10-110 as he took a second-innings five-wicket haul to go with the one he picked up in the first knock.

The draw was the expected result going into the final day, and by the time the captains shook hands at just after 4.50pm, Kent had opened up a 202-run lead, with Darren Stevens (47) and Rob Key (37) also contributing well.

There were times in the day when some Kent fans may have feared an unlikely defeat was on the cards, as the home side lost three top-order wickets in the morning session. However, Bell-Drummond’s 257-ball innings saw him bat out the vast majority of the day, securing a draw which sees Kent take 11 points from the game, and Essex 13.

Having played out 15 overs without loss on the third evening, openers Bell-Drummond and Key continued to accumulate runs on the final morning, putting on 71 together for the first wicket before Essex made the breakthrough; Jesse Ryder knocking captain Key’s middle stump from the ground when he wandered down the pitch on 37.

That started a difficult spell for Kent, which would see them lose three wickets and score just two runs in the space of 48 balls, as some sharp and aggressive work from Essex in the field built the pressure.

Visiting captain James Foster also made use of some attacking legside fields as he looked to pin the batsmen down.

First Sam Northeast (1) edged Ryder to Tom Westley at second slip as he attempted to drive, before Brendan Nash too edged the New Zealander behind for a duck; wicket-keeper Foster completing the catch. That wicket left Kent 73-3, and with a lead of just 20 runs midway through the morning session, as Ben Harmison joined Bell-Drummond in the middle.

At first, the pair continued to struggle to find runs, with nothing added to the total between the 26^th and 34^th overs, but eventually they settled, and were able to see Kent through to lunch on 110-3, although not before Bell-Drummond had been given a lifeline – dropped by a diving Nick Browne at first slip off the bowling of Tymal Mills on 26.

Harmison fell early in the afternoon session, edging David Masters to Ryder at slip for 22 as he attempted to play to the legside, but then came a partnership of 86 between Bell-Drummond and Stevens that calmed the nerves of the Kent players and all-but-secured the draw.

Bell-Drummond passed fifty in this time; a landmark which he had taken 171 balls to achieve, before Stevens perished on 47, hitting a delivery from Mills straight to Browne at cover.

Into the evening session, Bell-Drummond passed his previous Championship best score while Sam Billings fell for 11, stumped by Foster off Panesar.

Bell-Drummond’s five-and-a-half-hour stay at the crease was finally ended by Ryder, taking his ninth wicket in the match, as the 21-year-old was trapped lbw walking across his stumps.

By that stage, he had helped his side move onto 239-7, and open up a lead of 189 runs, although Kent would lose one further wicket before the close; Mitch Claydon edging Ryder for 10 to give the New Zealander a 10-wicket haul in the match, with second innings figures of 5-56 and match figures of 10-110.

However, the players came together to shake hands shortly after Claydon’s dismissal, with around 20 overs still left in the day.

The sides will now prepare to face off again in the NatWest T20 Blast tomorrow night, once again at The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence.

 

Result: Kent vs. Essex, LV=County Championship Division Two, The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury, 7-10 June 2014:

Kent 387 (Stevens 105, Nash 82, Bell-Drummond 56; Ryder 5-54) and 255-8 (Bell-Drummond 92; Ryder 5-56) drew with Essex 440 (Bopara 162, Westley 116; Claydon 5-82)

Kent: Bell-Drummond, Key*, Northeast, Nash, Harmison, Stevens, Billings†, Ball, Claydon, Riley, Bollinger

Essex: Westley, Browne, Bopara, Ryder, ten Doeschate, Foakes, Foster*†, Masters, Mills, Panesar, Moore

Kent won the toss and elected to bat

Points: Kent 11, Essex 13

 

Full scorecard available here