Hoggard bats out draw

Yorkshire clung on for a draw against Kent in the LV Championship match at Scarborough after appearing firm favourites to force a victory for much of the game.

The hosts slipped back into the relegation zone, despite picking up 12 points to their opponents’ seven, but had Kent managed to win they would have gone top of the Division One table.
 
Yorkshire slumped to 135 for eight in 36 overs after being set 204 in 51 overs, before skipper Darren Gough and Matthew Hoggard held out for 11 overs together to take the score to 166.

But then Gough was superbly caught right-handed at backward point by Robert Key to bring in last man Deon Kruis with 28 balls remaining.

Despite pacemen Ryan McLaren and Amjad Khan employing six slips in the closing overs, the pair managed to survive.

Hoggard faced up to the last over from Khan and when he safely played the final ball out towards point he had faced 50 deliveries while scoring just four runs.

Adam Lyth almost pioneered Yorkshire to a famous victory, making 52 on his home ground

Buy this photo

Having picked up a first innings lead of 230, the result was a bitter disappointment to Yorkshire and their second innings could not have got off to a worse start when former England captain Michael Vaughan was out for a duck, squirting a catch to Martin van Jaarsveld at second slip off Robbie Joseph.

Vaughan’s opening partner, Andrew Gale, was lbw in Joseph’s next over and wickets continued to topple with only Adam Lyth looking secure as he battled away on his home ground to try to pull Yorkshire round.

Lyth moved to his second half-century of the match, from 78 balls with six fours, but Yorkshire were in desperate trouble when the young left-hander was eighth out, slashing a head-high catch to James Tredwell at second slip to bring Joseph his third wicket. 

Kent led by 43 when they began the final day on 273 for five and they lost two quick wickets to Kruis as soon as the new ball was taken. An inswinging yorker bowled Geraint Jones and a stunning right-handed catch at second slip by Anthony McGrath accounted for van Jaarsveld for 73 from 119 balls, with 10 boundaries.

Their departures left Kent on 316 for seven but McLaren and Tredwell halted Yorkshire in their tracks with a 78-run stand for the eighth wicket which ended just before lunch when Gough had McLaren caught behind for 35.

Tredwell, however, went on to complete a brave half-century but four runs later he was caught by Rudolph at slip at the second attempt off Adil Rashid, having faced 81 balls, striking six fours and a six.

Khan rapped out an unbeaten 21 and when last man Joseph became Rana Naved-ul-Hasan’s fourth victim of the innings the Kent score had moved on to 433 to set the game up for its exciting finale.