Match report provided by the ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay.
DAY THREE
Tawanda Muyeye and Ben Compton both hit centuries as Kent coasted to an eight-wicket run win over Middlesex in the Rothesay County Championship at Canterbury on Sunday.
Muyeye made a fluent unbeaten 125 and Compton a stylish 124 not out in a record-breaking partnership worth 225, after England’s Zak Crawley showed a glimpse of form with 58, having being dropped on nought.
Earlier Middlesex were all out for 311, setting Kent what looked like a stiff target of 316 to win. Ben Geddes made 75 and Zafar Gohar contributed 57 down the order, but Gohar was the only visiting bowler to enjoy any success, claiming two wickets in two balls to reduce Kent to 91 for two. That, however, was as good as it got for the visitors and Compton hit the winning single with 5.4 overs of day three remaining.
Middlesex began the day in a strong position on 222 for six and with a 226-run lead in the bank, but they lost Geddes early when he pulled Jack Leaning to the backward square leg boundary and was caught by a tumbling Joey Evison, having added just two to his overnight score.
Blake Cullen made a useful 22 and saw off eight overs of the new ball before he edged Grant Stewart to Daniel Bell-Drummond at first slip.
Stewart then got Toby Roland-Jones lbw for a fifth-ball duck but the last wicket duo of Zafar Gohar and Henry Brookes milked the bowlers for 39 runs.
Gohar pulled Gilchrist for a huge six to take the lead past 300 and only perished when he cut the same bowler to Jas Singh on the backward point boundary.
There was an eerie silence when Crawley, on nought in the first over, edged Roland-Jones to Geddes, who dropped him at third slip. He then drove Roland-Jones for successive fours, edged one through gully, clipped a six over mid-wicket and looked largely unmolested on his way to the fifty he reached by sweeping Gohar to third man for four.
Gohar, however, undid him in his next over, with a ball that pitched near middle and spun back to hit his off stump. Bell-Drummond went to the very next ball, bowled by a delivery that pitched outside and hit off.
Yet Muyeye blocked the hat-trick ball and at tea Kent looked favourites on 164 for two.
A pitch that looked so demonic on day one seemed to have been exorcised. Gohar switched ends and switched back again. Muyeye creamed Brookes for a six over square leg that ended up in the car park and drove Gafar through mid off to reach his hundred.
Bowling at Compton’s head proved futile and he cut Gohar through point for four to reach three figures, by which stage Middlesex seemed drained of hope.
Muyeye seemed in a hurry to get it done in three days, dumping Gohar into the upper deck of the Cowdrey stand for a huge six.
It was the highest ever third-wicket partnership for Kent v Middlesex, eclipsing the 196 made by both Bob Wilson and Colin Cowdrey in 1954 and David Fulton and Matt Walker in 2004.
Compton staked his claim for a place in Kent’s Blast side by hitting the same bowler for a maximum over long on, for only the sixth six of his career and he had the honour of hitting the winning run when he nudged Nathan Fernandes through mid-off.
DAY TWO
Middlesex have batted themselves into a commanding position at the end of day two of their Rothesay County Championship match with Kent at Canterbury, reaching 222 for six at stumps, a lead of 226.
Stephen Eskinazi gave them a platform with 57 before Ben Geddes cashed in after being dropped twice to make 73 not out.
Earlier Kent were all out for 218, handing the visitors a four-run first-innings lead. Grant Stewart made 56 and Harry Finch 52 but their 101-run partnership was broken in the second over of the morning session. Blake Cullen had Middlesex’s best figures with four for 60, while Ryan Higgins took three for 37.
Kent were still 50 in arrears at the start of Day 2 but after passing 50 in the first over he swished Ryan Higgins to Zafar at midwicket, ending a partnership of 101.
Finch punched Roland-Jones through the covers to bring up his 50 but Higgins pinned him lbw in the next over.
Jas Singh and Kashif Ali almost got Kent to parity, until an eventful 83rd over. Kashif was on 16 when he hooked Cullen, but Brookes reacted a split second too slowly and the chance went down. However, he was run out off the very next delivery, when Singh drove Cullen through the covers and Zafar Gohar’s throw allowed Cullen to break the with Kashif a centimetre from making his ground. Cullen then bowled Singh middle stump to give Middlesex a slender advantage.
Nathan Fernandes’ run of single-figure scores this continued when Nathan Gilchrist had him lbw for one in the fourth over.
Max Holden, lucky to get off the mark with a tailender’s swipe at Stewart, nicked Gilchrist to Daniel Bell-Drummond at third slip for five in the next over, but Eskinazi and Leus du Plooy steered them to 33 for two at lunch and looked well set for an hour after the resumption until the latter edged Stewart to Jack Leaning for 26, breaking a 56-run partnership.
Joey Evison struck with his second ball, bowling Higgins off stump for 15 and Ben Geddes nearly went in the same over but Tawanda Muyeye couldn’t cling on at first slip.
Eskinazi clipped Evison for a single to reach 50 but was lbw to Singh in the 42nd over and there was further encouragement for Kent members, during an otherwise interminable afternoon session, when Michael Cohen came on as a sub fielder after missing the entire 2024 season with a back injury.
Middlesex, however, were 147 for five when tea was finally taken at 4.23 pm and the game began to drift away from the hosts, with Gilchrist unable to take a return catch off Geddes, who subsequently straight-drove Evison for four to reach his 50.
Jack Davies joined him in making batting look easy on a track that had looked treacherous on day one until Leaning got him for 27, caught by Bell-Drummond at first. Cullen then came in for three deliveries before the players came off for bad light.
DAY ONE
Kent fought to 172 for six on day one of their Rothesay County Championship match with Middlesex at Canterbury, trailing by 50 at the close on a day when 16 wickets fell.
Jack Davies’ unbeaten 47 was the highlight for Middlesex, as they scratched their way to 222 all out. Nathan Gilchrist took three for 43 and debutant Kashif Ali, occasionally wearing a Dennis Lillee-style headband, claimed three for 60, but Davies’ ninth-wicket partnership of 63 with Blake Cullen was already looking crucial as Middlesex ran through Kent’s top order.
England’s Zak Crawley continued to struggle as he went for a fourth ball duck, lbw to Toby Roland-Jones and Cullen took three for 51 to help reduce Kent to 79 for six before Harry Finch and Grant Stewart rallied the home side, finishing unbeaten on 49 and 46 respectively.
Kent had prepared a lime green wicket for the benefit of Keith Dudgeon, who’d taken eight wickets in the rout of Northants, but even though he was injured in training on Thursday they had no hesitation in choosing to bowl.
Dudgeon was replaced by Kashif, while Middlesex drafted in Stephen Eskinazi in place of Sam Robson.
A crowd of over 1,200 watched a morning session that was played out to a constant chorus of groaning from the home fielders, with almost every delivery troubling the batters.
Nathan Fernandes made just four before Gilchrist sent his off stump cartwheeling and Stewart then cleaned up Eskinazi for 14 in almost identical fashion.
Leus Du Plooy ground out 25 before charging down the wicket to Kashif and getting caught behind. Middlesex, however, made it to 89 for three at lunch.
Gilchrist then took charge getting Ryan Higgins in the second over of the afternoon, caught behind for 14, before he strangled Max Holden for 26.
Ben Geddes skied Jas Singh to Joey Evison at backward point for 13 and Zafar Gohar was bowled by Kashif for 11, playing on middle, when the ball pitched on off and hit.
Roland-Jones went in almost identical fashion. He was put down twice by Ben Compton at short-leg in the 45th over, only to lose his off stump to Kashif’s final delivery.
That left Middlesex on 150 for eight, but Cullen and Davies responded with a stand that was only broken when Singh bowled the former off-stump for 33.
The next ball to Henry Brookes was nearly caught by Finch but ended up flying through the slip cordon for four. Brookes, however, added just another single before he nicked Stewart to Jack Leaning.
The suspicion that 222 might be a useful score deepened when Roland-Jones hit Crawley plum on the knee-roll of his back pad. Daniel Bell-Drummond then went for six, shouldering arms to Ryan Higgins.
Tawanda Muyeye went for a combative 29, nicking Cullen to Eskinazi at first slip, but Leaning lasted just three balls before Brookes had him caught behind.
Joey Evison drove his first ball from Cullen for four and was caught behind off the next and Ben Compton was strangled for 32 to the same combination.
At that point it looked like the hosts might subside for under three figures but Stewart led the counter-attack, hitting Roland-Jones back over his head for six and edging Kent closer to parity by stumps.
Kent
Middlesex
