Kent fight back via fifties to Daniel Bell-Drummond and Ben Compton
Hosts three down trailing Gloucestershire by 206 runs after Ollie Price half-century
ECB Reporters Network
13-Jun-2022
Daniel Bell-Drummond celebrates his fifty • Getty Images
Kent 232 for 3 trail (Bell-Drummond 89, Compton 80) trail Gloucestershire 438 (Phillips 125, Hammond 66, Price 51) by 206 runs
Kent fought back on day two of their LV= Insurance County Championship match with Gloucestershire, reaching 232 for 3 at stumps, a deficit of 206.
In a contest so far dominated by the bat, Daniel Bell-Drummond made 89 and Ben Compton 80, leaving Kent needing another 57 to avoid following on against their Division One relegation rivals, with Jack Leaning and Jordan Cox unbeaten on 24 and 21 respectively at stumps.
Bottom-of-the-table Gloucestershire were earlier dismissed for 438, having added 50 to their overnight score, Ollie Price going for 51 and Zafar Gohar 49, while Matt Milnes finished with four for 93.
In front of a crowd swelled by 960 children, attending as part of the Schools Day Out initiative, Gloucestershire resumed on 388 for 7, and although they lost Price early when he was caught hooking Milnes to Leaning at square leg, Gohar took them past the 400 mark, before falling one run short of his half-century when he edged Jacob Duffy behind.
Sam Billings then took a smart, diving catch off Grant Stewart to dismiss Zak Chappell for 9 and wrap up the innings.
Chappell struck an early blow when he bowled Ollie Robinson's off-stump for three, but Compton dropped anchor, batting through the afternoon session while Bell-Drummond scored more freely at the other end, glancing Zafar for a single to reach his 50.
Well over an hour later Compton nudged Phillips to point for a single to reach the same landmark in the final over before tea, at which point Kent were 151 for 1.
Cabin fever seemed to set in. When an appeal for caught behind off Compton was turned down, Gohar collapsed so theatrically that the entire ground, including his fielders, burst into laughter.
The partnership was finally broken when Bell-Drummond was caught behind off Ryan Higgins, while Compton's eventual departure was the latest in a string of luckless dismissals. Attempting to reverse sweep Gohar, the kneeling Compton hit the ball into the ground, with replays suggesting it either bounced up off his pad or off the wicket before it was caught by Glenn Phillips, but Cox and Leaning ensured there were no further alarms.
