Stevens seven sparks Surrey collapse
Sixteen wickets fell in the day - almost half of them during a career-best spell of 7 for 21 by Darren Stevens - as Kent fought back strongly on the second day of their County Championship match with Surrey at Canterbury
11-Aug-2011
Sixteen wickets fell in the day - almost half of them during a career-best
spell of 7 for 21 by Darren Stevens - as Kent fought back strongly on the
second day of their County Championship match with Surrey at Canterbury.
Stevens' haul helped Kent dismiss the visitors for a paltry 127 inside 44 overs
and secure a surprise first innings lead of 139, only for the hosts to then lose
six wickets of their own during a chilly final session which lasted 45.4
overs.
Kent went in at stumps on 167 for 6 and holding an overall advantage of 306
at the midway point of the game. The hosts had captain Robert Key to thank for their position of strength - his watchful, unbeaten 70 is the only half-century to date in this Division Two
tussle to date.
Having been completely outmanoeuvred on day one, Kent's seam attack led their
worthy fightback by making the most of a cross wind and a thickening bank of
late morning cloud cover. Once the sunshine disappeared Kent's Pakistan paceman Wahab Riaz formed a dangerous 'little and large' partnership with swing bowler Stevens that saw
Surrey slip from 54 without loss to 127 all out.
Their capitulation started with the loss of five wickets for 10 runs in the
space of 37 deliveries in the face of some excellent bowling, particularly by
Stevens.
He started the rout by having Steven Davies caught low at second slip for 23 by
Martin van Jaarsveld. In the next over Mark Ramprakash attempted to get off the mark with a risky single off Riaz, only for Joe Denly to swoop in from cover point and run out
Rory Hamilton-Brown (34) with a direct hit at the striker's end.
One run later Zander de Bruyn followed a Stevens' awayswinger to guide a simple
catch to Key in the gully and depart for one. Then, without troubling the scorers, Ramprakash nicked a lifting awayswinger to keeper Geraint Jones to give Stevens a third, highly-prized scalp.
Surrey's demise gathered momentum when Jason Roy also went without scoring
after spooning a simple cut off Riaz to Denly at cover point. A short but heavy shower led to a 30-minute interruption and an early lunch, yet Surrey were still unable to stave off their collapse come the resumption.
Tom Maynard's hesitant shuffle at a Stevens' off-cutter saw him perish leg
before wicket for 16 and though Gareth Batty and Zafar Ansari both limped into
the 20s, Kent and Stevens in particular were unstoppable.
Ansari holed out in the deep off Adam Ball, leaving Stevens to mop up the
tail. He trapped former team-mate Yasir Arafat leg before wicket and had both Tim
Linley and Jade Dernbach well held low at third slip by Matt Coles.
Further showers led to the loss of five overs after tea and the break in
concentration led to the demise of Denly, caught on the crease and leg before
wicket to Linley's second ball after the resumption.
Linley had Sam Northeast caught behind and returned for a third stint to snare
Jones lbw, despite the hint of an inside edge, for a plucky 22. However, there were no mitigating circumstances for Stevens, van Jaarsveld and James Tredwell, who all fell to ill advised shots late in the day.