Kent completed an eight-wicket win over Surrey to give them their first victory of the 2014 County Championship season.

After off-spinner Adam Riley had completed his five-for, giving him nine in the match, Kent were chasing just 54 to win. They lost two wickets before Daniel Bell-Drummond and Brendan Nash saw them home; some of the morning session of the final day having been lost to rain.

Kent’s win lifts them from the bottom of the table, and is just reward for a fine all-round performance from the side, as they picked up maximum batting and bowling points in a match for the first time since July 2012.

Holding a lead of only 20 runs overnight, with just the single wicket in hand, Surrey’s final pair were able to extend that margin to 51, with number 11 Jade Dernbach looking to score some quick runs. He had made 24 before Adam Riley completed his fourth First Class five wicket haul; Sam Billings completing the stumping in the ninth over of the morning. That gave Riley second innings figures of 5-78, and match figures of 9-155; his best for Kent.

The rain came just one ball into Kent’s chase of 54, and when they resumed just over 45 minutes later, Sam Northeast was dismissed straight away, lbw to Aneesh Kapil; Northeast’s third duck in three Championship second innings so far this season.

Kapil then removed Northeast’s opening partner – captain Rob Key – in his next over, bringing Bell-Drummond and Nash together in the middle.

20-year-old Bell-Drummond took 16 runs off one Kapil over as the home side closed in on victory, and was the man to hit the winning run, steering a single off Dernbach to give Kent their first win of their Championship campaign.

Kent travel up to Derbyshire for their next match, starting this Sunday, where they will be looking to build on their victory here at Canterbury.

 

 

Stumps, day four: Kent vs. Surrey, LV= County Championship Division Two, The Spitfire Ground, St Lawrence, Canterbury, 4-7 May 2014:

Kent 435 (Key 126, Nash 126) and 54-2 beat Surrey 285 (Roy 60, Riley 4-77) and 203 (Davies 40, Riley 5-78) by 8 wickets

 

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

Surrey: Smith: Burns, Smith*, Sibley, Ansari, Davies†, Roy, Harinath, Kapil, Meaker, Dunn, Dernbach.

Surrey won the toss and elected to bat.

Points: Kent 24, Surrey 5

 

Full scorecard available here

 

Picture supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com