Mitch Claydon starred with the bat, hitting his highest First Class score, as he helped Kent take control of their Championship game with Leicestershire.

Having secured his best bowling figures for Kent of 5-77 on the first day, Claydon carried that momentum on with the bat on day two, making a top-scoring, personal best of 77, and passing 1,000 First Class career runs in the process, as Kent eventually reached a first innings total of 302.

Darren Stevens also made a half-century as Kent built on their somewhat perilous overnight position of 106-5 to add a further 196 runs for their last five wickets, including a last-wicket partnership of 67 between Claydon and Adam Riley.

This gave the visitors a first innings lead of 85 runs at Grace Road, and though a combination of rain and bad light truncated the rest of the day, Kent were still able to pick up three quick wickets in the hosts’ second innings, leaving Leicestershire 87-3 at the close, with a lead of just two runs.

Having lost five wickets in the evening session of the first day, Kent began the second still trailing the home side by 111 runs. The overnight batsmen Darren Sevens and Adam Ball made hay in the first hour, reducing the deficit to just 32 as they added 79 runs in the day’s first 14 overs.

Ball fell shortly after the hour mark, the first of three wickets in quick time for seamer Nathan Buck. After bowling Ball (36), he trapped Sam Billings lbw for 4, and then had Darren Stevens caught excellently down the legside by wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien.

All-rounder Stevens had already brought up his second half-century of the season by this point, and had made 57 when he was eventually sent back to the pavilion, leaving Kent 207-8, still trailing Leicestershire by 10 runs at that stage.

Charlie Hartley joined Claydon at the crease with the fall of Stevens’ wicket, and the pair saw Kent into an 18-run lead  at lunch before Hartley (2) was dismissed with just the second delivery after the break, which brought in last man Adam Riley.

Claydon and Riley first saw Kent to their second batting bonus point as they reached the 250 mark, before pushing on further. Former Durham-man Claydon played in typically aggressive and quick-scoring fashion as he passed his previous best for Kent (40), and then went on to the second fifty of his career, and his first for his new side, to a great reception from his teammates in the dressing room and the visiting supporters.

The Australian continued on, passing his previous First Class high score of 55 with a top-edge for six, as he and Riley then helped their side pick up what had seemed an improbably third batting point.

Claydon was eventually bowled by left-arm seamer Rob Taylor for a fantastic 77; his 91-ball knock having featured 14 fours and that single six. Having helped his side to 302 all out with an 85-run lead, he had put them into a strong and potentially match-winning position.

When the players retook the field in the afternoon with 14 overs of the Leicestershire second innings to bowl before tea, Kent would have been hopeful of potentially making a breakthrough before the break.

As it was, they picked up three quick wickets to further secure their stranglehold on the game.

Former-Leicestershire man Stevens picked up the first two with his accurate, swinging medium-pacers doing for both Angus Robson (8) and Ned Eckersley (4), before a snorting short delivery from Adam Ball had Dan Redfern gloving behind for 6.

Greg Smith and Leicestershire captain Josh Cobb saw their side to tea, and when a rain-delayed evening session got underway, they went on to move their side into a slender lead before bad light brought the players from the field at 6pm.

Kent will be hoping the elements are favourable to them going into day three, as they look to pick up their second consecutive County Championship victory.

 

Stumps, day two: Leicestershire vs. Kent, LV=County Championship Division Two, Grace Road, Leicester, 7-10 July 2014:

Leicestershire 87-3 (Smith 42 not out; Stevens 2-32) and 217 (Robson 56; Claydon 5-77, Hartley 2-40) lead Kent 302 (Claydon 77, Stevens 57; Buck 4-97) by two runs

 

Leicestershire: Smith, Robson, Eckersley, Cobb*, Redfern, O’Brien†, Taylor, Raine, Naik, Buck, Shreck

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

Kent won the toss and elected to bowl

Bonus points: Leicestershire 4, Kent 6

Full scorecard available here

 

Top picture supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com