Stevens earns Kent a draw

Nottinghamshire 462 and 210 for 3 dec drew with Kent 570
Scorecard

A season's best 197 by Darren Stevens ensured Kent held County Championship leaders Nottinghamshire to a hard-fought draw in Tunbridge Wells.

The 34-year-old just missed out on the third double hundred of his career but his near six-hour stay, with 24 fours and two sixes, nevertheless helped the visitors ease into a first innings lead of 108 and ensure a deserved draw.

A tinder dry and slow pitch that offered little or no assistance to either spin or seam bowlers allowed Nottinghamshire to bat out the 62 remaining overs in the match for the loss of only three wickets before the sides shook hands on a draw just before 5pm. Nottinghamshire lost promising opening batsman Alex Hales (16) moments before lunch when the tall right-hander pulled a short one from Matt Coles into the hands of 12th man Warren Lee at deep mid-wicket.

Then, after a second wicket stand of 103 in 36 overs, number three batsman Mark Wagh (34) played back to a turning ball from James Tredwell - his first of a new spell from the Railway End - that squeezed through bat and pad and onto off stump to make it 125 for 2. Kent gave new overseas recruit Malinga Bandara a much-needed 25-over work out and were rewarded with the scalp of Australia's David Hussey (22). The classy right-hander missed an attempted paddle sweep to lose his off stump, but it proved the final wicket of the game.

Nottinghamshire's makeshift opener Samit Patel marched on to post his first half-century of the summer from 110 balls, with seven fours and a six, and was unbeaten on 76 when the umpires drew stumps. His fourth-wicket partner Steven Mullaney had also enjoyed the final session, reaching 48 from 47 balls, only to be denied his 50 when the game ended in stalemate with the visitors taking nine points to Kent's 10.

At the start of the day Stevens had reached 197 when he drove loosely outside off stump against Andre Adams to nick an inside edge to wicketkeeper Chris Read and bring an end to a magnificent 238-ball stay.

Resuming on their overnight score of 478 for 6, Kent added another 92 despite losing Coles in the sixth over of the day. Adams picked up his first five-wicket championship haul for Nottinghamshire with the prized scalp of Stevens then Paul Franks wrapped up the innings by taking the final two wickets.

He ended a ninth-wicket stand between Simon Cook (26 not out) and Bandara (29) when the latter holed out to long-on then polished the job off by pegging back the off stump of last man Amjad Khan (5) to leave Kent on 570 all out.