Naved gives Yorkshire hope after Dexter ton

Kent 227 and 273 for 5 (Dexter 105, van Jaarsveld 61*) lead Yorkshire 457 (Rudolph 146) lead by 45 runs
Scorecard

It was a day of fluctuating fortunes at Scarborough today. Yorkshire, having doubled Kent's total, had the initiative wrested from them mainly due to a fine fighting century from Neil Dexter. Their chances of victory seemed to be slipping away twenty minutes before close of play, only for their Pakistani seamer Rana Naved to make a startling and spectacular return to form with three crucial wickets.

Yorkshire may have missed a trick by deciding to bat on this morning from their overnight 409 for 7; many thought they should have declared and sent Kent in again in what were likely to be the best bowling conditions of the day. Perhaps Darren Gough was enjoying his batting too much, but he decided to see out the innings, and it was almost an hour before Kent went in again.

At first it seemed that Yorkshire would not last long, anyway: Adil Rashid was immediately trapped lbw to a big off-cutter from Amjad Khan, unwisely padding up, without addition to his 43, and Matthew Hoggard edged the same bowler to second slip without scoring - he was doomed to be the only member of his team who failed to reach double figures. Gough, not knowing how long Deon Kruis would last, leaned back and hit Robbie Joseph over cover for a spectacular six into the crowd; later he hit Khan over midwicket for another. Kent helped, dropping two catches, and Kruis had his leg stump knocked out by a no-ball from Joseph.

They added 40 in about half-an-hour before Gough fell to a big heave, caught at square leg, for 33, leaving Kruis not out on 17. The innings closed on 457, a lead of 230, which was three runs more than Kent's total, and included a remarkable 54 extras. Khan, who moved the ball far more on both days than any of Kent's other seamers, finished with 3 for 79, while Joseph took 3 for a more expensive 112.

By lunch, Kent had advanced to 37 for 1, losing Robert Key (12), who was classically set up by Hoggard: two off-cutters, followed by the one that moved away and brought a edge to second slip. Now was the moment of truth for Kent. Would they meekly submit and enjoy a day off - as Warwickshire did at this venue last year - or would they knuckle down and fight back against such great odds? They chose the latter course and came out again fighting.

They had an early scare after the interval, when Andrew Gale at third man missed a difficult chance offered by Joe Denly, then on 17, off Adil Rashid. This may well have been the crucial moment of the match. With positive and determined batting, Denly and Dexter turned the course of the game and made batting look every bit as easy as Yorkshire had done the previous day. The Yorkshire bowling was uninspired, with Naved again looking anything but a Test player in bowling five expensive overs.

The fifties came up: Denly's in 93 balls, Dexter's in 95. When on 63, Denly hit a skyer to long-off, which Hoggard so badly misjudged that he never got a hand to it as it went over his head, but at least this miss was not expensive, as soon afterwards Hoggard got his revenge by having him caught in the slips for 66. Kent were now 155 for 2, the stand having added 132.

But Dexter was still there, and he was the man who unspectacularly turned the tables. He played few memorable strokes, but finally drove Kruis wide of mid-off to the boundary, a stroke that not only brought up his century (the third of his career, off 184 balls) but also erased Kent's large deficit with only two wickets down. What is more, this score had been made at a rate of almost four an over. Every run scored after this was in the black.

Having reached his century, though, Dexter seemed to run out of steam. Naved came on to bowl again, with an array of poor deliveries, but suddenly produced a ball fully worthy of his ability, a cracker than moved away from the batsman and hit his off stump. He went for 105, and Naved's next ball came in and was close to trapping Martin Saggers, the nightwatchman, lbw. Kent were 262 for 3. Dexter had gone after a fine innings, and this heralded another unexpected turning point.

At the other end was Martin van Jaarsveld, quietly adding another fifty (off 78 balls) to his first-innings century. But Saggers was no match for the suddenly inspired Naved, who yorked him without scoring. Next ball was another rejected lbw appeal, this time against Darren Stevens, who in his next over was caught at short leg without scoring. In fourteen balls the zero had become a hero, taking three wickets without cost. It was a prime example of how a cricketer's success or failure can be bound up simply in what goes on between the ears, rather than any physical or technical problem, and how just one piece of fortune can turn it all around in an instant.

Each day so far has attracted about two or three thousand spectators, which critics of the county championship may find hard to believe, and the fourth day should be equally well patronized as an interesting finish is likely. Thanks to the late sensations of Naved, Yorkshire have regained the advantage, but it is a fragile balance and Kent still have a reasonable chance of fighting out a draw - or even a slight possibility of recording a remarkable victory. The key figures in the morning session will be two overseas-grown players, Naved for Yorkshire and van Jaarsveld for Kent.