Darren Stevens and Doug Bollinger each took five wickets as Kent dismissed Derbyshire for just 118 on day two of their County Championship game.
With the whole of the first day at The 3aaa County Ground lost to rain, as well as the first half of the second day today, Kent would have known that any chance they had of taking a positive result in the game would require them to dismiss their opponents cheaply in the first innings.
Five-fors for Stevens (5-24) and Bollinger (5-29) saw to that, as the pair tore through the home side, taking wickets at regular intervals and causing all of the batsmen problems.
It was a fifth First Class five-wicket haul for all-rounder Stevens, and a 15th for left-arm seamer Bollinger, as the pair picked up all 10 Derbyshire wickets between them, before Kent openers Sam Northeast and Rob Key were able to see out the final three overs of the day without incident.
When the match finally got underway at just gone 2.30pm on day two, with Kent having won the toss and elected to bowl yesterday morning, it did not take long for them to pick up their first wicket, as Bollinger trapped Stephen Moore lbw for just 2.
Stevens joined him in the attack in the tenth over and made an instant impact, having Paul Borrington (8) caught by Adam Riley in the slips with his very first ball, before Bollinger dismissed the in-form Derbyshire skipper Wayne Madsen (14), to leave the home side 24-3.
Next to fall was the big wicket of West Indian legend Shivnarine Chanderpaul, a man with more than 11,000 Test match runs. He had five when Stevens rapped him on the pads, and saw himself on his way back to the Pavilion just one ball before the players left the field because of the rain. Tea was taken with Derbyshire 38-4, with First Class debutant Scott Elstone alongside Alex Hughes at the crease.
Elstone had made 23 when he became the fifth wicket to fall, another lbw decision for Stevens, leaving the home side 57-5 with wicket-keeper Gareth Cross, making his first appearance for Derbyshire, the new man in.
Hughes and Cross added 46 – by far the biggest partnership of the innings – before Derbyshire lost their final five wickets for the addition of just 15 runs, falling from 103-5 to 118 all out.
The turnaround came when Bollinger was brought back into the attack; the Australian taking three wickets in as many overs, as he first removed Cross (15), before picking up David Wainwright (0) and Tony Palladino (6).
Stevens then mopped up the rest of the tail, first getting rid of Tim Groenewald, a man with two half-centuries this season, to a fantastic one-handed catch by his captain Rob Key at mid-wicket, before finishing the Derbyshire innings off by bowling Mark Footitt for a duck.
Kent openers Sam Northeast and Rob Key had a tricky three-over spell to see about before the close, but were able to do so without fuss to leave Kent 10-0 at the close, just 108 runs behind their hosts with all ten first innings wickets in hand.
A strong batting performance on the third day could help to put Kent in a position where they can go for an unlikely win. However, with rain still expected to play a large part in proceedings in the final two days, the draw is perhaps still the most likely result.
Even if the game was to end as a draw, however, Kent can look to take as many bonus points as possible back with them to Canterbury, having already picked up the maximum three from their impressive bowling display.
Stumps, day two: Derbyshire vs. Kent, LV= County Championship Division Two, The 3aaa County Ground, Derby, 11-14 May 2014:
Kent 10-0 trail Derbyshire 118 all out (Hughes 36 not out, Stevens 5-24, Bollinger 5-29) by 108 runs with 10 first innings wickets remaining
Derbyshire: Moore, Borrington, Madsen*, Chanderpaul, Elstone, Hughes, Cross†, Wainwright, Palladino, Groenewald, Footitt
Kent: Northeast, Key*, Bell-Drummond, Nash, Harmison, Stevens, Billings†, Ball, Claydon, Bollinger, Riley
Kent won the toss and elected to bowl.
Bonus points: Derbyshire 0, Kent 3
Full scorecard available here
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