A topsy-turvy day left Kent’s County Championship game against Yorkshire in the balance on day one in Canterbury as the visitors closed on 358/8.
Kent started slowly with the ball as Yorkshire dashed to 124/1 just before lunch, but a good second session from the hosts pegged the away side back, as an inspired spell from Matt Milnes which included the dismissal of England captain Joe Root helped Kent into a decent position.
Yorkshire fought back well in the evening however though as their tail wagged, and left 400 a realistic target at stumps to leave the match finely poised.
Yorkshire captain Steven Patterson won the toss and opted to bat in overcast conditions, and Kent, as they were in their opening game against Northamptonshire, were sloppy with the ball early. Despite going past the bat a couple of times, Yorkshire openers Adam Lyth and Tom Kohler-Cadmore motored Yorkshire to 27/0 from the opening three overs.
Opening bowlers Harry Podmore and Darren Stevens struggled for control, but Stevens, named in Wisden’s top five cricketers of the year as recently as Wednesday, bought a wicket at the end of his second over, as Kohler-Cadmore chased a ball down leg, flicking it through to wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson for the first wicket of the day.
That dismissal brought Tom Loten to the middle but Podmore in particular continued to struggle and was replaced by Matt Milnes after four overs, which the 26-year-old saw go for 37 runs. Yorkshire’s 50 was up at the end of the eighth over, with Lyth motoring to 34 from just 24 balls.
West Indian Miguel Cummins was brought on by Kent skipper Daniel Bell-Drummond as the partnership for the second wicket passed 50, and Adam Lyth’s 50 soon followed, up from just 43 balls with eight fours.
All-rounder Grant Stewart was brought on for a bowl just before lunch, but Yorkshire’s 100 was soon on the board, up with a flick through the leg side for two by Loten.
The returning Harry Podmore struck soon after however, dismissing Loten caught behind for 27, and the Yorkshire number three was furious, also tickling one down the leg side to the ‘keeper, leaving Yorkshire 124/2.
Milnes drew Lyth into an edge that fell short of second slip as Kent tried to apply the pressure squeeze in the second session, but Lyth was soon well into the 90s. Milnes, however, struck within 20 minutes of the restart and it was Joe Root who went.
Milnes extracted excellent pace and bounce from the surface, and Root prodded at the ball before trying to pull his bat away. He was too late, however, and a feather through to Robinson saw him on his way for 11.
The squeeze was on for Kent with Brook struggling to get off the mark and Lyth into the nervous 90s, and the Yorkshire opener fell three runs short of his century, dismissed for 97 off the bowling of Milnes, again caught behind by Robinson, playing a nothing shot. That left Yorkshire 150/4 and at risk of throwing away their good start with two new batsmen at the crease.
The duo settled however and raced to a 50 partnership to bring up Yorkshire’s 200, though Tattersall contributed just two runs to that total. He was in, but not hurting the scoreboard. Brook, however, had picked up the pace by this point, and brought up his 50 from 72 balls with a nice cut shot for four off Cummins.
It was pretty much 50 and out for Brook as he was wrapped on the pads by Cummins and dismissed for 54 soon after his milestone. Playing across the line and beaten for pace, the 22-year-old had to depart but played well for his 50 and will be disappointed he didn’t kick on.
Zak Crawley dropped England teammate Dom Bess off the bowling of Cummins just before tea, but Tattersall fell shortly after to Jack Leaning’s first ball of the match. The Yorkshireman threw the kitchen sink at a wide ball but could only edge to the sole slip of Darren Stevens for 11, leaving Yorkshire 240/6 and Jack Leaning with a wicket against his old club.
Kent’s part time spinners toiled, and a long period passed after tea with no wickets falling, before Darren Stevens and Matt Milnes took the new ball – Milnes in place of the injured Harry Podmore, who had left the field clutching his abdominal area. Stevens struck early into his spell to dismiss Bess LBW for 36 and secure his 550th first-class wicket in the process.
The veteran forced Thompson to edge behind to Robinson – who took his fifth catch of the innings – for 34 just before Yorkshire reached 300, but the tail soon began to wag for Yorkshire and captain Steven Patterson played perhaps the shot of the day in at number 10 when he cut Milnes through point for four.
Willey edged the returning Cummins through the non-existent gully for four as play entered the final 10 overs of the day, and the 50 partnership between Willey and Patterson was soon on the board as well as Yorkshire’s 350.
Willey and Patterson saw out the final overs of the day as the visitors closed on 358/8, and they would have perhaps been the happier of the two teams. Kent maybe frustrated, but it was still all to play for at stumps.