Despite thrills, spills and disagreements, and a century from Daniel Bell-Drummond, Kent’s dramatic LV= County Championship match with Division 2 rivals Leicestershire ended in draw in wind-swept Canterbury

Press Association06-May-2015
ScorecardCharlie Shreck’s four wickets were unable to force victory against his former county•Getty ImagesDespite thrills, spills and disagreements Kent’s dramatic LV= County Championship match with Division 2 rivals Leicestershire ended in draw in wind-swept Canterbury.Having been set a victory target of 315, Kent, driven ahead by a century from Daniel Bell-Drummond, reached 273 for 7 and some 42 runs short of their first win of the summer, while the visitors missed out on a first four-day win in three seasons by failing to pick up Kent’s last three wickets.After rain forced an early lunch at 12.30pm and the loss of 18 overs, Kent set off on the unlikely pursuit at 1.10pm, but the initial blows were landed by Leicestershire’s former Kent seamer, Charlie Shreck.The 37-year-old trapped Joe Denly, Kent’s first innings top scorer leg before then accounted for Kent captain Rob Key in the same manner, after umpire Steve O’Shaughnessy upheld a concerted appeal.Two more overs were lost and three members of the groundstaff were swept off their feet as they fought to remove the sheets protecting the square from a brief shower. Kent returned to steady the ship through Bell-Drummond and Brendan Nash during a third-wicket stand of 105 in 32.5 overs.Former England Under-19 bat Bell-Drummond notched his maiden 50 of the summer from 120 balls but, in looking to work a single to leg for his half-century, Nash perished leg before to Rob Taylor to make it 145 for 3.With Bell-Drummond finding his form, he and Sam Northeast upped the run-rate tempo and, despite a miserly 10-over stint by Shreck, took Kent into the final hour needing another 139 off 20 overs for a famous win.Northeast’s demise for 37 – to the 14th lbw decision of the match – threatened to derail the Kent chase, but Darren Stevens emerged from the pavilion to breathe new life into the pursuit.The Leicestershire-born right-hander started to find the ropes with increasing regularity and, with 10 overs remaining Kent required a further 82 with six wickets still in hand.Though happy to give Stevens the strike, Bell-Drummond celebrated his first hundred of the summer from 186 balls and with 13 fours. He perished soon after, caught on the ropes in trying to clear the third man boundary off McKay for 103.With Kent still 62 runs shy, Shreck returned to have Stevens caught behind. The batsman clearly disagreed with O’Shaughnessy’s decision, but realistically, Kent’s lingering hopes of victory went with him.With 48 required from four overs Matt Coles thrashed at a wide one to be caught behind off Shreck to give Leicestershire a seventh wicket and renewed hope, albeit briefly. Sam Billings throttled back thereafter and played out time with Mitch Claydon and the sides shook hands on a draw at 6.23pm.In the end, the 20 overs lost to rain on the fourth morning had taken their toll and Mother Nature had won the day. Kent, still without a win this season, extended their 10-year unbeaten home run over the Foxes, while Leicestershire’s winless sequence will stretch to a 36th championship match.The final day had started promptly despite overnight rain and Kent making brisk work of picking up Leicestershire’s two remaining second innings wickets for a total of 196. Ivan Thomas had Taylor caught overhead at slip by Matt Coles, who then ripped out Shreck’s middle stump to conclude the innings at 11.12am. Thomas finished with career-best figures of 4 for 48.Meanwhile, Kent captain Key faces ECB censure after being reported to the board’s disciplinary committee for his behaviour during the third day of the game.