By D J Rutnagur at Northampton
First day of four: Kent 83-4 v Northants
WITH their innings damaged almost beyond repair by Franklyn Rose and Paul Taylor in the first 55 minutes after a 1.30pm start, Kent must have no regrets about play thereafter being restricted, by repeated failures of the light, to just 10 overs.
The opinion of those who saw the pitch at close quarters was that it was not as green as it looked from afar. But it had plenty to offer by way of movement and bounce and Northamptonshire had reason to be delighted that they had lost the toss. They are without Devon Malcolm but his absence has not been felt hitherto, not least because the breaks in play kept the bowlers fresh.
Rose was about to be rested after nine overs when play was interrupted for the first time. By then, he had accounted for David Fulton, beating him for pace and sending his off-stump cartwheeling, Trevor Ward, caught behind off a brute of a ball that bounced and left him, and Carl Hooper, who sliced a drive. In between the dismissals of Fulton and Ward, Ed Smith was trapped lbw by Taylor with one that kept low.
Ward, who has had a sorry season and was dropped down the order before being left out of the last match, looked restored to form as he caressed a half-volley from Rose through the covers to get off the mark and then drove him in the same direction with a fuller swing of the bat. Form, or the lack of it, had nothing to do with his dismissal to an excellent delivery.
Neither the pitch nor the bowling held any terrors for Hooper, who drove, cut and pulled five fours in making 22 off 27 balls. Following his hundreds against Gloucestershire and Worcestershire in the last two matches, Middlesex and Northamptonshire are the only counties against whom he has not notched three figures. With the authority he established over Rose and Taylor, one of those blanks could soon be filled.
By D J Rutnagur at Northampton
Second day of four: Northants (153-0) trail Kent (218) by 65 runs
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE, second from bottom in the table at the start of this match, have given the lie to the notion that at this late stage of the season the stragglers do no more than go through the motions. Yesterday they bowled keenly to dismiss Kent for the second lowest score by a visiting side to Wantage Road this season.
In their reply Rob Bailey and Alec Swann, who represent the ninth opening pair Northamptonshire have used this season, staged the county's largest opening stand, with Bailey passing the 50 mark for the first time in six innings and the elder Swann, celebrating his return to the first team after a lapse of two months, contributing his first half-century of the summer.
Kent's defiance was limited to an exhilarating 79 that included 10 fours by Allan Wells, who came in on Wednesday at 28 for three and was close to running out of partners when he attempted to hit Franklyn Rose over the top and was brilliantly held at deep mid-off, one-handed and overhead, by Kevin Curran.
If there was a blight on a happy day for Northamptonshire, it was the warning-off after three infringements of their third seamer, David Follett, for his follow-through on to the wicket.
Day 3: Headley keeps Kent interested
By D J Rutnagur at Northampton
Third day of four: Kent (218 & 64-2) trail Northamptonshire (391) by 109 runs
NORTHAMPTONSHIRE'S total was their second highest of a lean season, but seemed to have taken them too long to be of advantage until Kent lost their second second-innings wicket in the penultimate over.
The overnight partnership for the first wicket between Rob Bailey and Alec Swann, which Dean Headley split within 17 minutes of the start, remained the high point of Northants' innings.
Their batting thereafter was uneven. At lunch, they had added only 65 runs from 32 overs. To be fair, the varying pace and bounce of the ball made strokeplay difficult and the only batsman to achieve any fluency was Tony Penberthy, whose 61 raised his tally from his last seven innings to 404.
Wickets fell frequently enough to sustain Kent's attack, depleted by the absence of Martin McCague and Mark Ealham. The slight edge was represented by Dean Headley, who took five wickets in an innings for the third time.
Headley made the breakthrough when he caught Bailey on the toe and won an lbw verdict. He inflicted the same fate on Swann, in that the ball kept low, but he produced another yorker to fling out Kevin Curran's off stump.
Min Patel interrupted Headley's successes by luring Mal Loye into a fatal sweep. Then Headley returned with the second new ball to claim David Sales with a break-back before piercing the gap between Penberthy's bat and pad.
Day 4: Northants seek solace
By Paul Weaver at Northampton
Northants 391 drew with Kent 218 & 377-7 dec
THE Northamptonshire supporters had cause for at least superficial satisfaction as they watched their team in the cloudy warmth at the County Ground yesterday.
On the field, Kent started the day staring at an innings defeat; just off the playing area, there was the new £1.7 million indoor school, which is among the finest facilities in the country and which will be opened by Earl Spencer at lunchtime today.
But all is not well with Northamptonshire cricket. They are third from bottom of the table, having finished 15th last season and 16th the season before, and supporters' demands for a radical change of direction are becoming increasingly difficult to fob off.
The new captain, Kevin Curran, who has scored just 587 runs and taken two wickets at 126 runs apiece, has proved a disappointment as replacement for the popular Rob Bailey. He is likely to be replaced next season, although Tony Penberthy and Richard Montgomery, who cannot even command a first-team place, are the only realistic alternatives from within the club.
Devon Malcolm, their expensive import from Derbyshire, took 25 wickets in his first five games but only three in his last five and was taken off after bowling just one over for 16 runs when Leicestershire scored 204 from 19.1 overs.
David Sales, their thrilling prodigy of two years ago, is averaging less than 20 with the bat; Russell Warren, who had been tipped for international recognition, has scored 30 in eight innings and has been dropped; and their overseas signing, Franklyn Rose, though popular and able, has taken his time adapting to English conditions.
The season of 1995, when they finished third and looked capable of winning their first championship, when Allan Lamb played and Anil Kumble took more than a hundred wickets with his fast leg breaks, seems a long time ago.
Their outstanding player this season has been Mal Loye, who has scored almost 1,200 runs. But even here, the news is not happy. Loye will be out of contract at the end of the season and although offered a new three-year deal, he has publicly stated that he is less than happy with affairs at Wantage Road.
Northants were again a frustrated side yesterday, even though Kent, who resumed on 64 for two, needed 173 to avoid an innings defeat.
The nightwatchman Ben Phillips was soon bowled by David Follett, Chris Walsh was then bowled by Rose and when Paul Taylor had Ed Smith caught behind, Kent were 114 for five, still 59 behind. But their best two batsmen, Carl Hooper and Alan Wells, came together and added 176 in 51 overs.
Hooper scored his sixth century of the season and his third in as many matches - he had never reached three figures against Northants and had something to prove. Now only Middlesex and Leicestershire have not conceded a century to this wonderful player.