Match Report: Gloucestershire vs. Kent

Kent Men took on Gloucestershire in the latest round of Rothesay County Championship fixtures at The Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.

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Match reports supplied by the ECB Reporters Network, supported by Rothesay

Day Four Report

A fluent century from Tawanda Muyeye guided Kent to a two-wicket victory over Gloucestershire on the final day of an absorbing Rothesay County Championship Division Two battle at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.

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The home side began the day by adding 11 runs to their overnight second innings total of 251 for nine, Ed Middleton last man out for 22, to set a victory target of 261. James Taylor claimed the final wicket for a return of four for 54 and match figures of 10 for 106 on his Kent debut.

Kent slipped to 24 for two before Muyeye followed up his 90 in the first innings with 108 off 129 balls, receiving good support from Daniel Bell-Drummond (38) and Chris Benjamin (42) as their side posted 261 for eight. Gabe Bell claimed four for 87.

The visitors took 18 points from their second Championship victory of the season, while Gloucestershire had to settle for five from a fourth defeat in five matches.

Play began in overcast conditions and Bell quickly boosted Gloucestershire’s total with successive boundaries off Keith Dudgeon before Middleton played across the line to Taylor and edged to Sam Northeast at second slip.

It meant career-best match figures for 25-year-old Taylor, making the first appearance of a two-match loan from Surrey. But, on an excellent pitch still rewarding good batting and bowling, Kent knew they faced a challenging task to score the required runs.

They had progressed to 22 in the fifth over when Ben Dawkins drove at a full ball from Bell and was well caught low down at point by Ben Charlesworth. Two runs later Zak Crawley, on 17, departed in disappointing fashion, bowled by Bell aiming a big shot into the leg side.

Gloucestershire hopes of pressing home their advantage were then thwarted by Northeast and Muyeye, the latter going on the counter-attack to strike 3 fours in a Matt Taylor over. Will Williams finished a testing six-over opening spell with figures of one for nine, but by the time rain interrupted play at 12.35pm Kent had advanced to 64 for two from 18 overs, with Muyeye on 32.

Northeast was on only four and the second ball of the resumption at 1.45pm saw him pinned lbw pushing half forward to Williams. With the floodlights shining brightly under dark clouds, Kent’s middle order faced a tough assignment.

Muyeye went to his second fifty of the match, off 60 balls, with 9 fours, having looked in confident form from the start. He found an equally solid partner in skipper Bell-Drummond and the pair gradually put their team in a strong position.

Bell-Drummond hit six crisp boundaries before being bowled pushing forward defensively to Bell. At 146 for four, Kent still required 115 and a compelling game was back in the balance.

Both Muyeye and Benjamin had looked in good nick in the first innings and again they tilted things Kent’s way by moving the score to 173 for four at tea. The final session saw Muyeye bring up an entertaining hundred with his 17th four, guided through backward point off Williams.

Having narrowly missed out on three figures in the first innings, the 25-year-old leapt up and punched the air before raising both bat and helmet towards the skies. But the job wasn’t done when he perished soon afterwards, caught behind driving at Matt Taylor.

At 204 for five, Kent still needed 57. That had become 30 when Benjamin’s second important innings of the game came to an end, bowled by Bell off an inside edge. Ekansh Singh made 18 before being caught at short mid-wicket off Williams and Dudgeon departed to a poor shot, skying a top-edge off the same bowler, before Joey Evison and Taylor saw Kent over the line.

Taylor hit the winning boundary off Williams to complete a match he will long remember.

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Day Three Report

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The visitors added 19 to their overnight first innings total of 308 for eight to grab a slender first innings lead of two runs, Chris Benjamin fell without extending his innings of 74, while Will Williams finished with four for 48 from 24 overs.

Gloucestershire then slipped to 112 for four in their second innings. But opener Bancroft battled away in bowler-friendly conditions to score 83 off 195 balls and lead his side to 251 for nine by the time bad light ended play six overs early.

There were three wickets each for James Taylor and Ekansh Singh, but with the pitch still assisting the seamers a final day target of at least 250 will be a test.

Gloucestershire’s first task when play started was to take the two remaining Kent wickets, which they managed in 5.3 overs, Benjamin edging Gabe Bell to Bancroft at second slip and Keith Dudgeon, on 39, being well caught at mid-on by Williams off the same bowler.

A bitterly cold wind made it a heavy sweater day for the players. Testing opening spells from Keith Dudgeon and first day hero Taylor meant Bancroft and Ben Charlesworth faced tough tasks against the new ball.

They had taken the score to 14 in the tenth over when Charlesworth edged a defensive shot off Taylor to be caught at third slip by Dudgeon. Bancroft and Ollie Price then fought hard to prize out 25 more runs before in the last over before lunch Price, on 11, elected to drive a full ball from impressive left-arm seamer Michael Cohen and presented Dudgeon with another slip catch.

Lunch was taken immediately at 39 for two off 20.1 overs, Bancroft having toiled for 63 balls to make 14. His grafting approach continued to pay dividends in the afternoon session and Miles Hammond contributed 33 to a stand of 70.

Hammond had just hit Singh over mid-on for four when attempting another big leg-side shot and miscuing a catch to deep mid-wicket to make it 109 for three. With three runs added, James Bracey fell for a duck, edging a drive off Cohen to second slip where the diving Sam Northeast got one hand to the ball and directed it upwards for first slip Matt Crawley to gather at the second attempt.

With a lead of 110, Gloucestershire looked in some peril. But the resolute Bancroft, riding his luck with several play and misses, moved to a half-century off 137 balls and Tommy Boorman helped take the score to 143 for four at tea.

The final session saw Boorman, on 19, flick a ball from Singh in the direction of square leg where Tawanda Muyeye took a tumbling catch. But another partnership then frustrated Kent as Graeme van Buuren hit 7 fours in a positive contribution of 32 at better than a run a ball.

He helped Bancroft bring the 200 up with a stand of 49 before having his off stump knocked back by a delivery from Taylor that looked to keep a bit low. The big wicket of Bancroft quickly followed as the Australian played back to a ball from Joey Evison that nipped back off the seam and pinned him leg before having been at the crease for just over five hours.

Matt Taylor was caught behind for ten aiming an expansive drive at a wide ball from Singh to make it 227 for eight. But still Gloucestershire battled and had just taken their total past 250 when Williams was unluckily bowled by Cohen off his thigh pad.

The umpires then decided the light was too poor, leaving Ed Middleton to continue the fight tomorrow on 21 not out.

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Kent seamer Ekansh Singh said: “I have worked hard at my bowling during the winter and put on a bit of pace, which seems to be paying dividends.

“The key for us today was to stick together as a bowling unit and not go searching for wickets too much when they built partnerships.

“With the pitch as it is, there will definitely be challenging periods for us when we bat tomorrow.

“But we will back ourselves to be positive and hopefully emerge with a win from what has been a very exciting game to play in.”

Day Two Report

Half-centuries from Tawanda Muyeye, Chris Benjamin and Ben Dawkins boosted Kent’s battle for first innings supremacy over Gloucestershire on the second day of the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.

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Muyeye top-scored with 90 off 141 balls, while Benjamin contributed 74 not out and Dawkins a career-best 65 as the visitors ran up 308 for eight in reply to Gloucestershire’s 325. Seamer Will Williams was the pick of the home bowling attack with four for 40 from 21 overs and claimed a stunning run out.

At one point Kent were 245 for eight, trailing by 80 runs. But Benjamin and Keith Dudgeon (30 not out) put together an unbroken ninth-wicket stand of 63 in the closing overs to frustrate the hosts.

Kent set out at one without loss when play began in hazy sunshine. With no addition to the score in 2.5 overs, Zak Crawley aimed to play a delivery from Gabe Bell off the back foot and only succeeded in getting an inside edge onto his stumps.

Michael Cohen was dropped on 12 by Ollie Price at first slip off Matt Taylor, but had added only six when another edge off a full delivery from Williams saw him safely pouched by Gloucestershire captain Cameron Bancroft at second slip.

Williams then produced the best ball of the morning, nipping back off the seam to bowl Sam Northeast between bat and pad and Kent were in trouble at 39 for three.

But Dawkins was soon into his stride, taking two boundaries off Ben Charlesworth’s first over, while the brief introduction of leg-spinner Ed Middleton saw him concede ten off an over, with Muyeye capitalising on the opening two deliveries, both dropped short, to pull successive fours. By lunch, the pair had taken the total to 99 for three, with Dawkins unbeaten on 45 and Muyeye on 31.

The afternoon session saw Dawkins go to his half-century off 99 balls, with 9 fours, while Muyeye required 88 deliveries to reach fifty, having struck eight boundaries. On 59, Dawkins was given a life when Price dropped his second catch of the day, low at first slip off Matt Taylor.

That enabled the 19-year-old to go past his previous best first class score of 61, made against Derbyshire at Canterbury last season, as he and Muyeye brought up a century stand off 190 balls.

Dawkins departed soon afterwards, bowled by Williams playing forward defensively. The former Lancashire seamer struck for a fourth time when Price redeemed himself by accepting a third chance to send back Daniel Bell-Drummond for three and make the score 151 for five.

Muyeye and Benjamin then put together a stand of 55 before, on the stroke of tea, Muyeye got a thick edge pushing forward to Charlesworth and wicketkeeper James Bracey took a straightforward catch moving to his right.

Muyeye had hit 14 fours and rarely looked in much difficulty.

Tea was taken at the fall of his wicket with Kent 206 for six, still 119 runs behind and Williams having returned four for 24 from 16 overs.

As if that were not enough, Williams produced a startling piece of fielding early in the final session to claim Kent’s seventh wicket. Ekansh Singh, who had just lofted Graeme van Buuren over long-on for six, slashed the left-arm spinner to deep cover only to be run out attempting a second as Williams scored a direct hit with only one stump to aim at.

Benjamin was holding the Kent innings together and moved to a chanceless fifty off 86 balls, with 6 fours. He lost another partner when Joey Evison was caught behind looking to pull a short ball from Charlesworth.

The second new ball was taken after 80 overs at 245 for eight, but made no impression as Benjamin and Dudgeon batted with calm assurance until stumps.

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Kent top scorer Tawanda Muyeye said: “It’s a tricky pitch to bat on and it’s still offering a fair bit for the bowlers.

“It’s not turning much, which is probably an advantage for us, because they are playing two spinners and we have five seamers.

“I feel like I have been unlucky over the past couple of weeks. Today I backed my defence and tried to be positive if the bowlers missed their line or length.

“The partnership between Chris Benjamin and Keith Dudgeon at the end was very important for us.

“Chris is a fighter and we have seen this type of innings from him before. Keith has also been great for us all season and both show great intent with the bat, which we can all learn from.”

Day One Report

James Taylor marked his Kent debut with six wickets to help bowl out Gloucestershire for 325 on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship Division Two match at the Seat Unique Stadium, Bristol.

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The 25-year-old seamer, starting a two-match loan from Surrey, took a career-best six for 52 from 23.1 overs as the hosts collapsed from a promising 287 for four. Ben Charlesworth top-scored with 85, off 148 balls, with 13 fours, after Kent had won the toss and elected to field.

James Bracey contributed 57, Ollie Price 50 and 21-year-old Tommy Boorman a career-best 49 in his third first class match, while Keith Dudgeon deserved better than his figures of two for 63. In two overs before the close, Kent replied with one without loss.

Cameron Bancroft got the Gloucestershire innings underway with an edged four over the slips off the second ball of the day, sent down by Dudgeon. It was to prove a sign of things to come as Kent’s seamers bowled with little fortune.

Bancroft survived a confident lbw shout from Dudgeon on four and had progressed to only 12 when, with the total on 27, he edged Taylor to first slip where Zak Crawley took a low two-handed catch.

Charlesworth, on 20, edged Michael Cohen through the slips for four before playing and missing twice in the same over. But the powerful left-hander gradually grew in confidence and was unbeaten on 46 at lunch, which was taken at 96 for one, Price having provided solid support in a half-century stand off 82 balls.

That became a century partnership off 170 deliveries in the afternoon session as Charlesworth was first to his fifty, having struck 8 fours. Price followed to the same milestone, with nine boundaries, but the next ball from Taylor saw him edge a back-foot forcing shot to Dudgeon at third slip.

At 144 for two, Gloucestershire were well placed and the total advanced 172 before Miles Hammond, on 12, fell leg-before to Dudgeon, who finally got the wicket he deserved. It was the last ball of the 52nd over and the first delivery of the next saw Charlesworth bowled off an inside edge by Joey Evison, driving at a wide one.

Tea was taken at 215 for four, with Bracey having been joined by Boorman. Both batted well either side of the interval and brought up a half-century partnership in 87 balls.

Taylor twice went past the outside edge of Boorman’s bat in the 69th over as the pitch continued to offer seam movement. With the total advanced to 240, a short shower interrupted play, but it resumed at 5.25pm and no overs were lost.

Bracey produced the most assured batting of the day, moving fluently to a 78-ball fifty, with 8 fours. Boorman took more risks, but laced his innings with some sweetly-struck boundaries in taking the stand to the century mark off 140 deliveries.

It was a surprise when Bracey departed, lbw aiming to drive across the line to a ball from Evison, to make it 287 for five, with the second new ball little more than two overs away. It was taken at 301 for five and the lucklessDudgeon soon had a confident shout against Graeme van Buuren for a catch behind rejected.

The former Gloucestershire captain has struggled for runs this season, but was positive from the outset. He had moved to 21 when edging Taylor to third slip to make it 309 for six. Boorman quickly followed, caught behind driving at Dudgeon, having faced 99 balls and hit 8 fours. Matt Taylor became his namesake’s fourth victim, leg before, and from the next ball Will Williams was caught and bowled, the ball popping up off and inside edge onto his pad.

Kent’s Taylor completed a memorable day by bowling Ed Middleton, leaving Gloucestershire to reflect on losing their last five wickets for 16 runs.

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Kent’s on-loan seamer James Taylor said: “I actually got a bit emotional with myself when I went down to fine leg after taking my fifth wicket. It’s my first five-for and something I have been dreaming about for eight years at first Derbyshire then Surrey and now Kent.

“I’ve had a tricky start to this season with Surrey and to finally get to play some first class cricket again and show what I can do was great. It’s one of those days when you can say you were really proud of yourself.

“Last week was one of the toughest of my career because I was due to join Kent, but then got recalled because Surrey had injuries. Then I didn’t get in the team there either so it was a double disappointment missing out on two opportunities.

“I actually only met up with the Kent lads yesterday, although we did play against each other in pre-season. We all bowled well today and I was the lucky one who took the wickets.

“We stuck at it when we didn’t get our due rewards and finally the wickets came in clusters with the second new ball. It’s a good cricket wicket and I think we are in a good position.”

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