Report: Warwickshire v Kent, County Championship

Day Three

Warwickshire banked their first Vitality County Championship victory of the season in the most emphatic fashion, by an innings and 21 runs over struggling Kent, well inside three days at Edgbaston. 

Kent were bowled out in their second innings for 243 on the third morning as Warwickshire’s seamers completed the demolition job they start on their opponents on the first morning.

Bowled out for 156 first time round, Kent mustered little more at their second attempt even against the Kookaburra ball on an easing pitch as Oliver Hannon-Dalby took six for 43 (nine for 74 in the match).

Only Joey Evison (65, 103 balls) offered prolonged resistance as the visitors’ dismal season delivered a sixth successive championship defeat and another shunt towards relegation.

After Kent resumed on the third morning on 157 for three, they advanced comfortably enough to 171 before Hannon-Dalby hit them with a burst of three for six in 14 balls. Sharp in-duckers trapped Jack Leaning and Muyeye lbw and Charlie Stobo sent his first ball to Rob Yates at second slip.

Hannon-Dalby was six tenths of the way to an all-10 but that pathway was ended by Ed Barnard who trapped Grant Stewart lbw and followed up with the wicket of Matt Parkinson, who edged to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.

Alfie Ogborne edged Michael Rae to slip before Evison, running out of partners, lifted Barnard for six to reach a 93-ball half-century. Evison batted impressively in both innings but when another attempt to clear the ropes, off Michael Booth, found only Alex Davies at long on, another championship ordeal for Kent was complete.

Their championship Division One status will expire shortly but Warwickshire’s appears safe for another year after this victory as other teams in the bottom half of the table struggle in their games around the country.

First Team Coach Mark Robinson, said: “Obviously this was a game you target due to where they are in the league and we needed a win as well so it was something we went all out to get. We played really good cricket. 

“I’ve got a bit of empathy for Kent because they are in a difficult place and have lost a lot of players injured, they are probably the hardest-hit team in the country, but when a team is a little bit vulnerable like that you have got to go for the jugular and we have managed to do that.

“The first morning was key. To bundle them out for 150 really set the game for us and then it was all about being positive and trying to get a score and we did that around Will Rhodes’ double century. He hadn’t had a score for a few championship games and was itching to get one. He did some great work with Ian Westwood coming in to this game and really cashed in on what became a good batting wicket.

“Throughout the game we bowled really well as a unit. Olly Hannon-Dalby will get the headlines and rightly so but Michael Rea’s spell this morning was really hostile and backed him up brilliantly.”

Day Two

Will Rhodes marked his penultimate home game as a Warwickshire player with a double century to put his side in command of Kent in the Vitality Championship at Edgbaston.

Rhodes struck a chanceless 201 (295 balls, 32 fours) to lift Warwickshire to 420 and a first innings lead of 264.

Rhodes’ six-and-a-half hour marathon laid a foundation for his side to press hard for their first championship win of the season. Needing 264 to avoid an innings defeat, Kent closed the second day on 157 for three as Olly Hannon-Dalby (three for 26) took his championship wicket tally this season to 40.

Kent’s multitude of problems continues to mount. Their bowling attack, nobly led by George Garrett (three for 76) and Matt Parkinson (three for 94), was deprived of Grant Stewart by a shoulder injury while Tawanda Muyeye could not open the batting as he was unable to field due to a knee injury.

When Warwickshire resumed on the second morning on 207 for three, their progress was immediately brisk. Rhodes struck the first ball of the day to the boundary and five fours from his first 17 balls faced in the session took him to a 151-ball century.

Jacob Bethwell edged Charlie Stobo to wicketkeeper Harry Finch but Rhodes and Barnard rattled up a century stand in 150 balls. The fifth-wicket stand reached 145 in 34 overs before Barnard lifted Parkinson to mid off.

The last six wickets then fell for 46 as Warwickshire, miles ahead already, threw the bat. Michael Burgess pulled Joey Evison to deep mid-wicket, Michael Booth lifted Parkinson to extra cover and Michael Rae larruped the spinner for six but was then stumped off him. Garrett finished the innings by having Rhodes caught at deep square and knocking out Hannon-Dalby’s off stump.

Kent started their second innings after tea with 43 overs to bat in the day and lost Ben Compton in the fifth of them when he edged a loose drive at a wide ball from Hannon-Dalby to wicketkeeper Burgess.

Harry Finch, opening in Muyeye’s absence, and Bell-Drummond added 116 in 29 overs without many alarms but Lady Luck then truly turned her back on Kent in the closing overs as Bell-Drummond was adjudged lbw and Finch (38, 96) given out caught at slip.

Will Rhodes, said: “It’s always nice to get runs here at Edgbaston and after what has happened to me personally in the last month, with the news that I am leaving, to get a big one in front of the home crowd before I go is very pleasant.

“You never know, it could be my last innings here as a Warwickshire player if it rains when we play Essex, so it was lovely to score some runs. It will be emotional when we play Essex because it has been a great seven years here and a period of my career I will remember very fondly.

“It was nice to get us a long way ahead in the game. It has turned into a good batting pitch but it’s great to have three wickets in the bank. Olly showed his class there to get three really important wickets in the last session. If we could have just got one more it would have been the perfect day but it was still a great day and we know we have got the armoury to get the wickets we need tomorrow.”

Day One

Warwickshire took a firm grip of this crunch County Championship Division One clash at Edgbaston after a seam onslaught bowled Kent out for 156.

The visitors were skittled in just 39.5 overs by a three-pronged pace attack of Olly Hannon-Dalby, Chris Rushworth and Michael Booth before the Bears batters reached 207 for three at the close.

Booth (three for 13), Hannon-Dalby (three for 31) and Rushworth (three for 43) dismantled a Kent batting order in which only Ben Compton (70, 103 balls) and Joey Evison (28, 44) reached double figures.

Warwickshire completed their excellent day by moving 51 ahead with seven wickets intact, Will Rhodes compiling a measured unbeaten 82 (134 balls) to build a perfect platform for a belated first championship win of the season.

Warwickshire chose to wield the Kookaburra ball first and took just four balls to strike with it. Tawanda Muyeye, fresh from 211 against Worcestershire at Canterbury last week, sliced the first ball from Hannon-Dalby to the third man boundary and edged the fourth, a perfectly-pitched outswinger, to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.

Muyeye copped an unplayable delivery, but Daniel Bell-Drummond was culpable five overs later when he edged a footwork-free waft at Rushworth to third slip.

When Jack Leaning edged Hannon-Dalby to first slip, Kent were in distress at 44 for three.

Compton and Evison added 57 in 13 overs before the vestige of resistance was torpedoed by a collapse just before lunch. Evison (29, 49) edged Ed Barnard to Burgess and Booth took three wickets in 11 balls to gallop to career-best figures. Harry Finch and Charlie Stobo edged to Burgess and Grant Stewart miscued to point.

Compton reached a defiant half-century from 74 balls but lost an eighth partner when Matt Parkinson edged Rushworth behind and a ninth when Alfie Ogborne sliced Hannon-Dalby low to second slip. Compton was within sight of carrying his bat when he pulled Hannon-Dalby to square leg to supply the bowler with his 500^th wicket in all formats for Warwickshire.

If Kent looked devoid of confidence with the bat, they did so equally with the ball as Warwickshire openers Rob Yates (40, 53) and Alex Davies (37, 35) added 62 in 11 overs. 

Somerset loanee Ogborne trapped Davies lbw and Yates edged former Bears team-mate George Garrett behind but Rhodes and Hain, with tons of time and the weather forecast excellent for the duration of this match, added a sedate 94 in 30 overs.

Hain played on to the impressively persevering Ogborne but Rhodes is within 18 runs of his 11th first class century.

Bears bowler Olly Hannon-Dalby, said: “A lot has been made about the Kookaburra ball but there is actually quite a lot of swing early on with the Kookaburra and we saw that this morning. The swing tends to dissipate quite quickly with the Kookaburra, a bit like with the white ball, so it was nice that it swung early on and we managed to nick a few out.

“Then Michael Booth took three quick wickets. He is a very promising young bowler who bowls with great pace and has a good work ethic so for him to get a career-best and sort of turn the game was great.

“Then our batters did a really good job. Yatesy and Davo gave us a great start and then Rhodesy batted brilliantly and really patiently. Hopefully we can pile on the runs tomorrow and get a nice big lead.”