Kent ease to quiet draw

Kent 352 and 95 for 2 drew with Derbyshire 460 and 256 for 4 dec
Scorecard

Kent batted out for a forgettable County Championship draw in their rain-affected second division clash with Derbyshire in Canterbury.

Kent banked nine points to the visitors' 11 after Derbyshire opted to extend their overall lead to 364 before declaring on 256 for 4 soon after lunch. Having been set an impossible last-afternoon winning target of 365 from a minimum 58 overs - an asking rate of 6.29 an over - Kent reached 94 for two amongst the rain breaks before shaking hands on a draw at 5pm.

Home skipper Rob Key anchored the innings with an unbeaten 59 from 78 balls, his second-best score of the campaign to date, while Martin van Jaarsveld enjoyed a 38-minute net in the middle for an unbeaten 12.

The home reply started badly when Joe Denly, back in the side following a three-week lay-off with a fractured thumb, followed his first innings of five with a fifth-ball duck in the second. The right-hander had his middle stump uprooted by a Tim Groenewald off-cutter that darted through the gate.

After another break for rain that led to an early tea interval, Kent regrouped through Key and Sam Northeast to add 61 for their second wicket before Northeast, in aiming to leg-glance against Tony Palladino, edged through to the wicketkeeper to fall for 21.

The last day started with Derbyshire's first-innings centurions Wayne Madsen and Usman Khawaja back in tandem as the east midlands side resumed on their overnight score of 85 for one.

Khawaja, who will fly home to Australia tonight for his country's A-team tour of Zimbabwe, reached 36 before he became his side's first casualty when edging a defensive push against Azhar Mahmood to the wicketkeeper.

Madsen, fresh from scoring 140 here during the opening two days, reached 71 from 111 balls before failing to get on top of a cut shot at Neil Saker and picking out Northeast at point. Dan Redfern and Wes Durston then featured in a fourth-wicket stand of 93 in 21.1 overs, each ultimately scoring a 50 from 61 and 88 balls respectively.

Redfern went soon after lunch after the left-hander skied a leg-side slog against James Tredwell to make it 236 for four. Luke Sutton's declaration followed 30 runs on and just after Durston had reached his half-century.