Lancashire Vs. Kent LVCC Day Four

Nash hits century as Kent match ends in a draw.

Despite Lancashire having the upper hand in this fixture, Brendan Nash hit an impressive century to give the away side the spoils on the final day of this LV County Championship fixture. Lancashire took more points from the game, but the late momentum was awarded to Kent, as Nash and Michael Powell shared an unbeaten third-wicket partnership worth 142.

Unsurprisingly there was a touch of rain in the air before play, but this would not prevent Lancashire from resuming play on 356-5, with both Simon Katich and Steven Croft closing in on milestones. 

Katich, who scored 84 versus Worcestershire in the first round of matches was keen to reach his century, but it was important that he accelerated, in order to give his team any chance of pulling off a miraculous victory. But from his first delivery of the day he edged the ball behind to Geraint Jones off Matt Coles for 93, as he was clearly trying to guide the ball over the top of the slip cordon.

A collective groan of disappointment sounded at Old Trafford, as the home fans were hoping to see him add to his total. Matt Coles refused to stand on ceremony, dismissing Gareth Cross LBW first ball, setting up a hatrick ball, as he claimed figures of 3-84. Lancashire captain, Glen Chapple survived the delivery, but the Lancashire fans were disappointed to see Cross dismissed so easily, as the young Alex Davies seems to be increasingly likely to replace the wicket-keeper in his lack of form.

Steven Croft’s fifty had been overshadowed by Lancashire’s early loss of wickets, but it was a reassuring knock for the Blackpoll-born all-rounder. With the help of Chapple, Croft was able to settle the home side, who had suffered from several early setbacks, as they approached a declaration. A risky piece of running and comical drop from Jones could have ended Lancashire’s innings sooner, but when the home side declared 149 runs ahead, it was due to a combination of rain and hail.

Lancashire’s already minimal chances of forcing a result were eliminated, as 11 overs were lost, forcing the lunch interval to arrive earlier than had been planned.  

Wickets needed to fall at a constant rate and with James Anderson opening the bowling for Lancashire, the home side attempted to achieve the impossible. The England international beat the bat almost every ball and bowled several maidens, but he and Kyle Hogg were unable to take any early wickets against the defiant batting of Sam Northeast and Rob Key.

Eventually with the score on 22, Simon Kerrigan bowled Northeast for 11, but the match was clearly heading for a draw. Key then edged behind to Cross off Chapple for 19, to give the Lancashire captain his second wicket of the match.

Although Lancashire were frustrated by the fact that the weather had deprived them of a potential victory, they found solace from their success with the ball, but this was soon to be taken away from them. Nash and Powell were the only Kent players to show any form of resistance in their first innings and this action was to be repeated once more.

Nash in particular displayed great confidence with the bat, dispatching Lancashire’s bowlers for 12 fours in his innings of 100 not out. The West Indies international hit his fourth fifty in a row from just 76 balls and he continued to accelerate to the despair of Lancashire.

Due the absence of wickets in the afternoon session, it became clear that the players were going to shake hands early in this game, but not before Nash had completed his century, which came from 141 balls. Powell had taken the back seat in the partnership, but remained as collected as his partner, as he finished on 39. This could have easily been converted in to fifty, but the players saw no point in continuing play, as the game came to an inevitable draw.

Another fantastic batting display from Lancashire was overshadowed by poor weather, but their slow batting at the start of their innings resulted in them missing out on another bonus point. Long gone are the days of Aigburth where wickets fall in large quantities, as another draw at Old Trafford highlights the difficulty for bowlers, even of James Anderson’s quality.

His bowling partner Kyle Hogg said that “After twenty overs, the ball becomes very soft, and taking wickets becomes hard” and based on the way this match played out, this was a fair statement to make.

Lancashire will find some relief from playing away from Manchester, as their next four day fixture takes them to Wales, as they take on Glamorgan at Colwyn Bay, where, perhaps, Lancashire’s abilities will be put to the test for the first time this season.