Kent keep Derbyshire down

Derbyshire, who failed to garner even one batting point, lost ground to Kent, fellow-strugglers in the First Division, in their championship match at Derby. They fell to Martin Saggers, using the seam to good advantage, at the beginning of the innings and David Masters taking three wickets in three overs at the close.

With half-centuries in two consecutive championship matches Steve Stubbings and Dominic Cork provided the only resistance in an otherwise inadequate batting performance. Derbyshire began unconvincingly against Saggers, who dismissed Stephen Titchard and Michael Di Venuto in the first four overs, and first-class debutant Ben Trott as the ball moved around.

A ECB pitch liaison officer watched the difficulties of the batsmen but the county are not likely to face a second points deduction. The early batsmen fell in an attempt to push along the score before they had settled to the pitch. Matthew Dowman and Stubbings, let off before he had reached double figures, put on 52 runs for the fifth wicket.

The latter went on to his fifty from 130 deliveries but lost his partner to a slip catch not long after lunch. A ball from Saggers struck Cork on the left foot causing him to have treatment, but showed resilience in hitting the next to the ropes to put the total into three figures. Stubbings' innings ended to a cover-catch after 227 minutes at the crease.

Wickets tumbled after that: Cork lashed out to try to break spinner Min Patel's tight bowling of giving away only 31 runs in nearly 27 overs. Kent then began their innings in the gathering gloom. Tim Munton dismissed David Fulton to a catch at the wicket in the first over, but Robert Key and Rahul Dravid held on until the umpires, prodded into action by a Cork bowler, offered the batsmen to come off at 27-1 which they accepted.