Brooks four leads Northants win
Jack Brooks took four wickets as Northamptonshire romped to an innings victory over Kent on the third day of their County Championship Division Two match at Wantage Road
16-Apr-2011
Jack Brooks took four wickets as Northamptonshire romped to an innings victory
over Kent on the third day of their County Championship Division Two match
at Wantage Road.
Northamptonshire added 51 to their overnight score before being bowled out for
480 with their captain Andrew Hall eventually departing for 146 off 297 balls
and Simon Cook taking 3 for 72.
Brooks then ripped through the Kent top order on his way to 4 for 36 as
Kent were skittled out for 119 to go down by an innings and 159 runs.
Northamptonshire started the day on 429 for 7, 227 runs ahead of their
opponents, with with Hall resuming on 141 and James Middlebrook on 50. Hall added five to his overnight total before his brilliant innings came to an end when he was superbly caught by substitute fielder Ashley Shaw at mid-wicket off the bowling of Robbie Joseph.
Lee Daggett made 14 before he walked after edging edged Cook to Kent
wicketkeeper Geraint Jones. Cook then ended the innings when he forced Brooks to nudge him to James Tredwell at first slip for a duck.
That left Middlebrook unbeaten on 74 off 122 balls with his knock including six
fours and four sixes. Trailing by 278, Kent's second innings got off to a catastrophic start when Joe Denly (five) edged Chaminda Vaas to wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien in just the third
over.
Captain Rob Key followed him cheaply in the next over after scoring just two
when he slashed Brooks recklessly to Hall at first slip. And the visitors were left floundering on 15 for three when Brooks' searing delivery clipped Sam Northeast's off stump to send him back for seven.
Amazingly, it was 25 for 5 at lunch with Brooks on fire again when he forced
Jones to edge to edge behind for three before Vaas took out Martin van
Jaarsveld's off stump.
Kent's woes continued in the third over of the afternoon when Darren Stevens
was trapped lbw by Brooks off the first delivery he faced. Daggett was brought into the attack in the 22nd over and he ended Alex Blake's resistance on 18 by forcing him to fend to David Sales at second slip.
Stephen Peters then took a superb one-handed catch at short mid-on to dismiss
Matt Coles off Daggett before Middlebrook pinned Cook lbw, both batsmen falling
for 13.
Victory for Northamptonshire was then secured when Tredwell, who made a
battling 35, launched Alex Wakely straight to Middlebrook at point.
