Kent Set 380 Target as Worcestershire Mount Late Resistance in Canterbury

Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, St Lawrence Ground, Canterbury (day three)

Kent 238 & 358: Northeast 132; Taylor 4-68

Worcestershire 217 & 84-3: D’Oliveira 24*; Milnes 2-21

Worcestershire (3 pts) need 286 more runs to beat Kent (3 pts)

Kent look well placed to beat fellow County Championship promotion hopefuls Worcestershire at Canterbury, after being bowled out for 358 in their second innings to set the visitors a daunting target of 380 to win.

But the Pears then fought back from 39-3 as captain Brett D’Oliveira (24*) and Adam Hose (23*) stabilised the innings, before bad light stopped play with 11.5 overs remaining, leaving the visitors with a slim chance of success on the final day.

Earlier, Sam Northeast, who was 96 overnight, went on to make a solid 132, while Tom Taylor finished as Worcestershire’s leading bowler with 4-68 to complete a seven-wicket match haul.

After 12 overs were lost to rain, Kent resumed on 197-3, and it took only 25 minutes for Northeast to register his first century for Kent at Canterbury since returning to the club this season, doing so by glancing Ben Allison to third man for four.

His partnership of 127 with Daniel Bell-Drummond, the biggest of the match so far, was ended when the home captain, having passed 10,000 first-class runs for Kent, was out for 44 to the final ball of the session, driving the new ball back to Allison.

Northeast was then dismissed on the first ball after lunch, his middle and leg stumps splayed by an inswinger from Taylor.

Grant Stewart blasted Allison with a six over midwicket before losing his middle stump to Taylor for 15.

Keith Dudgeon made an eight-ball duck, nicking Taylor to first slip, but Matt Milnes added 20 in a useful stand of 45 with Chris Benjamin, before he was lbw to Adam Finch.

Beyers Swanepoel bowled Matt Quinn before Benjamin called Hasan Mahmud through for an extra run after a misfield by wicketkeeper Henry Cullen. But Beyers Swanepoel was backing up, Mahmud was ran out and Benjamin was left stranded on 36.

Dan Lategan was then lbw to Milnes, who then got Jake Libby for 18 after Matt Quinn had removed Rehan Edavalath with his second ball, but Hose and D’Oliveira have so far stuck around to offer the visitors some hope.

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