Kent v. Derbyshire day 1

Kent 352 (Bell-Drummond 129, Benjamin 56, Crawley 44, Haydon 5-82)

Derbyshire 24-0 (Came 16*, Jewell 8*)

Derbyshire trail by 328 runs

On a day on which Ben Aitchison took his 100th wicket in all cricket and Wayne Madsen held his 400th catch, it was a maiden five-wicket haul by Rory Haydon that ensured Derbyshire bowled Kent out for 352 today.

I didn't see the morning session, as we were travelling back from Berwick-on-Tweed after another lovely holiday. I managed to rewind the stream (fixed cameras...) and saw the wickets. 

It was pleasing to see the Kent top order removed, but when I settled down to watch in the afternoon, I said to my wife that Daniel Bell-Drummond was enjoying such luck that a century was sure to come. He was fortunate to survive a very good spell from Zak Chappell after lunch, when he nearly played on and could have been leg before. There were a number of play and misses too, but around them a number of dazzling strokes that highlighted once again what a very good cricketer he is.

He was well-supported by the lower order, especially Chris Benjamin, but the Derbyshire bowlers stuck well to their task. It is hard to tell at this stage if 352 is a good or only middling score, but Derbyshire will want to bat long and with a similar collective battling mentality as that shown by their hosts.

The ball of the day was certainly the one with which Andersson dismissed Crawley, while the catch must have been the one held by Wayne Madsen from the bowling of Haydon. It flew up to his right and he held it with the aplomb of a man plucking an apple from a tree. There doesn't appear to be an awful lot wrong with his eyes, that's for sure. 

Yet the day belonged to Rory Haydon. I have been a fan since I first saw him in action for the second team and he just looks a good bowler. He is  always there or thereabouts, was still running in with the same enthusiasm at the end of the day and fully deserved his first five-wicket haul in first class cricket. I have every confidence that it will not be the last. 

Derbyshire had a tricky five overs to face before the close and they reached 24-0 without too many alarms. I would love to see a good partnership between Jewell and Came tomorrow, as a prelude to a long and enjoyable and enjoyable - from a Derbyshire perspective - innings!

Probably honours even at this stage, but tomorrow will probably be very important for both sides.