Date-stamped : 10 Jul95 - 14:29 Ealham races to record century By D. J. Rutnagur at Maidstone Kent (253) bt Derbyshire (249-7) by 4 runs ALL of the great big hitters, from Gilbert Jessop to Ian Botham, would have been proud to have played the innings of 112 that Mark Ealham did at the Mote yesterday. It was the cornerstone of a thrilling victory that kept Kent among the front-runners in the League and no doubt lifted their morale for two big one-day bat- tles coming up this week. Ealham, coming in with only 14 overs remaining and Kent badly in need of substance and momentum - they were 105 for five - hit nine fours and nine sixes and his hundred, off 44 balls, was the fastest ever in the competition, beating by two balls Graham Rose`s for Somerset on the smaller Neath ground in 1990. Ealham`s innings, which ended with two balls remaining, was a breathtaking display of controlled aggression, with no hint of a slog. Every six was a cultured stroke. He was, however, dropped three times by Chris Adams while he pro- gressed from 54 to 67. The first chance, off a top-edged pull, was the easiest, but the third, on the boundary at square leg, was so powerfully hit that it went for six. To their credit, Derbyshire were not fazed by the daunting task facing them and they were in the hunt until the last ball, which Karl Krikken needed to hit for six. The hapless Adams repaid a large part of the debt he owed Der- byshire by scoring 79 off 77 balls, and sharing a second-wicket partnership of 96 with Adrian Rollins. He was fourth out with the score on 180 and 10 overs remaining when he played across the line to Headley. Following his dismissal, Derbyshire lost Phil DeFreitas and Kim Barnett getting the next dozen runs. Poor Dominic Cork had added cause to regret the early finish at Edgbaston. He took a fair share of the mauling, initially from Aravinda de Silva and then from the rampant Ealham. Opening the Derbyshire innings with Adams, he was out in the second over, top-edging a cut that Graham Cowdrey caught magnifi- cently - with a sprint, dive and slide - at third man. Source :: Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk) Contributed by Gazza (G.Hunt@bath.ac.uk)