Kent rue lack of killer instinct as Josh Bohannon leads Lancashire recovery
Vilas and Wells in the runs to aid visitor's recovery from morning losses
ECB Reporters Network
22-Apr-2021
Josh Bohannon en route to a half-century • Getty Images
Lancashire 260 for 7 (Bohannon 87, Vilas 53, Wells 45) vs Kent
Lancashire were 260 for 7 at stumps in their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Kent, after a seesawing first day at Canterbury.
Josh Bohannon hit 87 and Dane Vilas 53, as the visitors recovered from 85 for 4 and 190 for 6 in their Group Three fixture.
Darren Stevens took 2 for 35 and Miguel Cummins 2 for 61, but having won the toss and opted to bowl, the hosts were left to rue their failure to go for the jugular when they had Lancashire wobbling early in both the afternoon and evening sessions.
England's James Anderson had been expected to play for the visitors, but was rested due to a calf issue, while Kent made two changes to the side that subsided by 200 runs to Yorkshire, Fred Klaassen and Heino Kuhn coming in for the injured Harry Podmore and Grant Stewart.
Kent smothered Lancashire in a morning session that saw just seven boundaries, but produced only two wickets. Although Matt Milnes had Alex Davies caught behind for one in the fifth over, the only other success came when Stevens removed Keaton Jennings, who was brilliantly caught by Jack Leaning at third slip for 16.
Debutant Luke Wells and Bohannon steered Lancashire to 61 for 2 at lunch, but Wells fell in the 38th over for a dogged 45, caught behind off Cummins.
Stevens then had Steven Croft lbw for 2, but the session drifted away from Kent after Bohannon was dropped by the sub fielder Nathan Gilchrist, who top-edged Cummins when he was on 21. Gilchrist sprinted in from the fine leg boundary but couldn't hang on to a difficult chance and Bohannon and Vilas cashed in, reaching 179 for 4 at tea.
Fred Klaassen finally broke the partnership when he produced a yorker that had Vilas lbw in the 67th over, ending a stand of 102. Leaning then removed Rob Jones for two, luring him out of his ground and allowing Ollie Robinson to claim the first stumping of his red ball career, but Lancashire put on a useful stand of 58 for the seventh wicket before Cummins had Bohannon lbw.
Luke Wood and Danny Lamb were the not out batsmen at the close, on 28 and 12 respectively.
