Kent’s 10th wicket partners Yasir Shah and Mitch Claydon saw out the final 46 balls of the match to secure a thrilling Specsavers County Championship draw with Durham in Canterbury.
Shah, on his home debut, batted for 81 minutes while last man Claydon – a former Durham player – combined to deny Paul Collingwood’s side their first win and clinch a battling draw.
Required to bat all day to maintain their unbeaten status in the division, Kent lost three wickets in each of the opening two sessions leave the door ajar for a Durham win.
The hosts first blow came to the 20th delivery of the day when, in aiming an expansive drive against Barry McCarthy, opener Daniel Bell-Drummond only succeeded in dragging the ball onto his middle stump to slope off with only 17 to his name.
After helping to add 76 in 17.5 overs for the second wicket Joe Denly departed for 45 to the deserving Gavin Main. Denly had scored his ninth boundary by edging Main through the cordon to the ropes at third man but, without addition, Denly pushed at one with an open bat face only to steer the ball into the hands of Paul Collingwood at slip.
Durham bagged their third wicket of the session with 117 on the board when Sean Dickson, four short of his 50, drove a firm return chance to the bowler Keaton Jennings who accepted the catch with glee.
After lunch Sam Northeast and Joe Weatherley dug in for 26.3 overs in adding 63 for the fourth wicket before Weatherley, the Hampshire loanee, departed for his fourth successive championship score in the 30s. Defending on the back foot, the 20-year-old was undone by low bounce as one from Gavin Main kept low to pluck out his off stump.
Darren Stevens came in to scratch around for 16 minutes without getting off the mark before he pushed at a Ryan Pringle delivery to be caught behind by Stuart Poynter stood up to the stumps.
Poynton was celebrating 10 runs later when Chris Rushworth’s reintroduction at the Nackington Road End accounted for Will Gidman for the second time in the match. The Durham bowler, attacking from around the wicket, ran one away from the left-hander who feathered though to the keeper to go for three.
Early in the final session and fresh from his unbeaten century in the first innings, Northeast emulated his Durham counterpart Paul Collingwood by notching a second innings half-century from 108-ball and with five fours.
Collingwood’s bowling changes continued to work wonders and the fourth wicket in succession fell in the first over of a new stint. At 4.30pm Collingwood claimed the second new ball, tossed is to his attack leader Chris Rushworth and was rewarded with the wicket of Adam Rouse with the second delivery.
Playing back in defence Rouse (23) was adjudged lbw by umpire Steve Garrett although it appeared that the Durham cordon had initially appealed for a catch at the wicket.
Rushworth landed another hammer blow by ending Northeast’s 229-minute vigil for 72. The Kent skipper, who hit an unbeaten 109 in the first innings, missed out when aiming to leg and Garrett again raised the finger, much to Northeast’s obvious displeasure.
Matt Coles, not known for his stoical batting, then joined forces with debutant Yasir Shah to take Kent into the last hour on 271 for eight. The ninth-wicket pair won their first battle in seeing off Rushworth who, after giving his all for 25 overs in a spell of three for 62, hobbled off for treatment to a stiff back.
Shah, working on the ‘attack is the best form of defence’ principle, unfurled a series of wristy flicks, cuts and drives to hit the ropes on five occasions before his partner Coles departed with under eight overs remaining.
Poking in defence at a shooting delivery the left-hander went for lbw for 30 to give Matthew Potts, the 18-year-old Durham Academy graduate, his maiden championship wicket on his first team debut.
It came down to the final over from Potts who bowled the final delivery of the match to Shah with six slips, two gulleys and a short leg. The Pakistan all-rounder denied his fellow debutant, however, and the cheers were Kentish as the hosts maintained their push for promotion. Kent banked 8 points to Durham’s 12.