van Jaarsveld offers Kent boost

Kent 198 for 4 v Derbyshire 460
Scorecard

A battling 95 from Martin van Jaarsveld and a half-century by Sam Northeast improved Kent's chances of avoiding the follow-on in their County Championship clash against Derbyshire.

Responding to Derbyshire's impressive 460 all out - their best total of the season and their first haul of maximum batting bonus points - Kent reached 198 for four at the mid-point of the game and in their quest to reach 311 in order to make the visitors bat again.

After a poor start, Kent recovered with stands worth 96 and 65 for their third and fourth wickets with van Jaarsveld playing the lead role in both. Kent lost their first wicket in the sixth over when Joe Denly, making his first appearance in three weeks after breaking a thumb, reached five before chopping on to his off stump when attempting to cut against Jonathan Clare.

His skipper Rob Key soon followed after being undone by a superb delivery by Tim Groenewald. Pushing defensively at one that lifted and left him, the right hander edged to second slip where Chesney Hughes pocketed the catch to make it 32 for 2.

Northeast and van Jaarsveld then joined forces in a stand that lasted almost 27 overs. Northeast, fresh from scoring a century against Loughborough MCCU, hit a 108-ball fifty with nine fours only to go eight balls later, leg before to off-spinner Azeem Rafiq.

Van Jaarsveld looked nailed on for his first century of the summer and was five short when, in attempting a back-foot force against the offspin of Greg Smith three overs from stumps, he picked out Groenewald who clutched a stunning low catch away to his right at point.

Having suffered a horrendous opening day with the ball, Kent enjoyed a much improved spell in the field at the start of the second day by taking the last seven Derbyshire wickets in just over a session. Left-arm seamer Ashley Shaw started the rout with three wickets in the space of five balls on his championship debut.

The 20-year-old from Crewe started the morning well by removing Derbyshire night watchman Tony Palladino with a yorker. Then, in his next over, Shaw had Dan Redfern (30) caught at second slip and, with his next ball, snared Greg Smith leg before as he aimed to push through mid-on and slightly across the line.

Luke Sutton successfully fended away the hat-trick ball, but Wes Durston soon went for 18 when he fenced at a Neil Saker lifter to be caught behind.

Sutton had reached 28 when he lost his leg stump when aiming to paddle sweep against James Tredwell then, just before lunch, Rafiq failed to get on top of a short one from Matt Coles and was well caught low in the gully by Tredwell.

Kent wrapped up the innings soon after the resumption when Shaw rushed one through the gate against Jonathan Clare to finish with 5 for 118. In doing so Shaw became the first Kent player to take five wickets on championship debut since Muttiah Muralitharan, who bagged 5 for 61 against Essex at the St Lawrence ground in 2003.