Lancashire Keep Control After Bowling Kent Out
Lancashire dismissed Kent for 293 on the opening day of their Rothesay County Championship clash at Canterbury, before reaching 19 without loss at stumps. That leaves the visitors trailing by 274 runs with Luke Wells (3*) and Keaton Jennings (10*) at the crease.
Ben Compton led Kent’s innings with 77, while Ben Dawkins contributed 60. However, a dramatic collapse saw Kent tumble from 217 for 2 to 274 for 9, with the final four wickets falling for just four runs. Mitchell Stanley starred with the ball, claiming 5 for 80, supported by Tom Hartley’s 3 for 68. Despite the success, Lancashire’s attack was undermined by 37 extras, including 26 no-balls.
“𝑺𝒕𝒂𝒏𝒍𝒆𝒚’𝒔 𝒔𝒑𝒆𝒍𝒍 𝒕𝒖𝒓𝒏𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒂𝒎𝒆 𝒐𝒏 𝒊𝒕𝒔 𝒉𝒆𝒂𝒅, 𝒃𝒓𝒆𝒂𝒌𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒌𝒆𝒚 𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒏𝒆𝒓𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒑𝒔 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒍𝒆𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒔𝒕𝒖𝒏𝒏𝒆𝒅.”
Compton and Dawkins Shine Before Collapse
Earlier, Dawkins reached his maiden first-class fifty, while Compton eased to his half-century as Kent looked in control at lunch on 122 for 1. The pair added 136 before Stanley dismissed Dawkins, caught at midwicket.
Tawanda Muyeye added fireworks with a quick 48, hitting two sixes, but fell to Hartley after a mix-up and a brief injury scare during a mid-pitch collision with Compton.
From there, wickets tumbled quickly. Stanley removed Compton, while Hartley cleaned up Ekansh Singh for 4. After tea, Kent’s lower order folded, with Finch, Rizvi, and Evison all departing in the space of seven balls. Stanley then wrapped up the innings by bowling Matt Quinn and getting Matt Parkinson caught behind.
“𝑭𝒓𝒐𝒎 217 𝒇𝒐𝒓 2, 𝑲𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒍𝒐𝒐𝒌𝒆𝒅 𝒔𝒆𝒕 𝒇𝒐𝒓 𝒂 𝒃𝒊𝒈 𝒕𝒐𝒕𝒂𝒍, 𝒃𝒖𝒕 𝑳𝒂𝒏𝒄𝒂𝒔𝒉𝒊𝒓𝒆’𝒔 𝒃𝒐𝒘𝒍𝒆𝒓𝒔 𝒉𝒂𝒅 𝒐𝒕𝒉𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒅𝒆𝒂𝒔.”
With the new ball in hand, Stanley ensured Lancashire seized momentum heading into day two.
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