| Specsavers County Championship Division One, Beckenham (day two): |
| Surrey 439: Jacks 120, Borthwick 95, Clarke 88 & 11-0 |
| Kent 294: Dickson 128; Batty 3-49, S Curran 3-54 |
| Surrey (8 pts) lead Kent (5 pts) by 156 runs |
| Scorecard |
Kent collapsed after tea to hand the initiative to defending champions Surrey on the second day at Beckenham.
Kent were 227-2 in response to Surrey’s 439 all out, but fell to 238-6 with Gareth Batty dismissing Heino Kuhn and Ollie Robinson in consecutive balls.
Opener Sean Dickson compiled an excellent 128 for the hosts before he was dismissed by Sam Curran with the new ball as Kent were all out for 294.
Surrey closed on 11-0 in their second innings, leading by 156.
After adding 19 to their overnight 420-9 in the morning, Surrey’s chances of picking up their first win of the campaign appeared to be fading on a pitch that had flattened out under sunny skies.
But 41-year-old off-spinner Batty (3-49) turned the game either side of tea, first bowling Daniel Bell-Drummond for 37 and then finding the edges of captain Kuhn and in-form Robinson.
Right-hander Dickson, who had only made 85 runs in six innings in 2019, looked at ease against an attack that included England all-rounder Curran (3-54) for the first time this season.
However, with wickets tumbling around him, he eventually nicked Curran’s opening delivery with the second new ball behind to leave them 272-8.
Matt Milnes and Harry Podmore did manage to take Kent past the follow-on target of 290, although they face an uphill battle to avoid a third defeat in four matches.
