A sublime unbeaten double century from Darren Stevens guided Kent to their victory target of 418 against Lancashire at Canterbury.

In what could be his last innings in professional cricket, the 37 year old all-rounder showed Kent fans what they’d miss if he wasn’t to be allowed to play cricket after this season.

However, today was all about cricket and what a game it turned out to be.

From the moment Stevens strode to the wicket, to the time he went off to a standing ovation, there was always the belief that those of us watching on were going to see something special.

How special though will live long in the memory as Stevens treated us to what he described after the game as possibly his best ever innings, and that’s from a guy that has scored 208 twice before, whilst breaking records as Kent made history against Sussex in the YB40 earlier in the season.

The day had started with Kent resuming on 32 for 1, needing 418 for victory, with the likelyhood that either Lancashire would cap sealing the Division Two Championship with another win, or the game would end in a tame draw.

It seemed as though it would be the former with both Brendan Nash and Ben Harmison out early on. Nash was to edge Kyle Jarvis behind for just six, whilst Harmison was given out lbw to Tom Smith for seven.

At that stage Kent were 60 for 3, still some 350 runs short of their victory target and talk amongst the fans was as to how long the game was going to last.

What they didn’t count on though was Stevens, elevated to number five with former skipper Rob Key hampered by a broken thumb.

Along with Sam Northeast, Stevens took the side through to lunch without too much alarm, although Smith thought he’d trapped him lbw too whilst in single figures.

Northeast paced his innings superbly, giving the strike to Stevens who raced past fifty, with the former ultimately out to Luke Proctor for 70.

With Sam Billings coming and going for 24, slashing wildly to a wide ball outside his off stump and caught behind off Smith, Kent has stumbled to 213 for 5 and victory seemed a long way off.

That dismissal brought Adam Ball to the wicket and along with Stevens the pair were to take the side to within just over a hundred runs at the tea interval.

They served up the odd chance with Stevens fortunate not to have been caught at mid wicket, but he was to pass three figures with ease.

Ball was to pass fifty for the first time in his career too as Kent closed in on the improbable target.

The two came out after tea with purpose and had got the side through to 361 when Ball fell for a career best 69 before he too was given out lbw to Smith.

Two wickets in the over for Oliver Newby set the Kent chase back with James Tredwell edging through to Smith at first slip for eleven, whilst Mark Davies was out lbw for nought off his third ball.

With 29 runs still needed, out strode Key, with his broken thumb to rapturous applause from the Kent faithful who were delighted to see the former skipper come to the crease at the unusual position of number ten.

Lancashire peppered Key with short balls trying to test out his injury, but he was happy to pull the ball and rotate the strike back to Stevens who passed 200 for the third time in his career.

It was fittingly Stevens that hit the winning runs as he ended on 205 not out in an innings that took just 218 balls with 21 fours and three sixes, one of which cleared the Cowdrey Stand.

He was rightly applauded off by everyone in the ground, including the Lancashire players who probably couldn’t have believed what they’d just witnessed.

If it is to be Stevens’ last ever innings, he can rightly say that he went out in style.

 

Kent: Northeast, Key, Bell-Drummond, Nash, Harmison, Stevens, Billings, Ball, Tredwell, Davies, Hunn.

Lancashire: Horton, Reece, Prince, Brown, Procter, Agathangelou, Smith, Davies, Newby, Parry, Jarvis.

 

Result: Kent vs. Lancashire, LV= County Championship Division Two, Canterbury, 24-27 September 2013:

Lancashire 284 (Prince 134, Brown 42; Davies 2-41, Ball 2-42) and 393-5dec (Prince 108, Horton 106) lost to Kent 260 (Key 134, Harmison 59; Parry 3-51, Newby 3-57)  & 418 for 8 (Stevens 205*, Northeast 70, Ball 69) by 2 wickets.

Kent 21 points, Lancashire 5 points. 

Picture supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com