Hampshire V Kent (12-15 August)
Kent (12pts) drew with Hampshire (10pts)
Darren Stevens and Robert Key both passed 1000 first-class runs for the season as they lifted Kent to a competitive total at The Rose Bowl. Stevens top-scored with 101, while Hampshire's Australian all-rounder Andy Bichel took four for 122 - but was thoroughly smacked about by Min Patel and Amjad Khan on the second morning. The pair added 65 for the final wicket to take Kent to a first-innings total of 446. Sean Ervine hit plenty of boundaries in reply, as Hampshire eased to 82 for 1 before play was stopped due to bad weather.
On day three, however, Kent hit back. In 33 fiery overs before lunch, Amjad Khan and Min Patel both took two wickets, and despite more runs from Ervine - who finished with 74 - Hampshire crumbled to 182 for 7 at lunch. However, Andy Bichel and Nic Pothas added 138 for the eighth wicket, as Hampshire eked out 325, with Bichel top-scoring from number nine with 87 off 90 balls. Kent got a good start to their attempt to get quick runs and put a big target up for Hampshire, as they moved to 140 for 4 just before the close of play, but Shane Watson took two quick wickets and Shaun Udal one, and all of a sudden it was up to Justin Kemp and Andrew Hall to save Kent, as they were 153 for 7 overnight. Kemp fell on the fourth morning, as Kent rolled over for 185, setting up a potentially exciting finish with 307 runs to get in 83 overs. A 95-run partnership between Sean Ervine and John Crawley put Hampshire into a good position at 139 for 1, but Hampshire failed to score quickly enough, and three wickets from Simon Cook could not quite force a victory as Hampshire hung on to finish on 241 for 8 and draw the match. (Cricinfo scorecard)
Read more about this topic: Kent County Cricket Club In 2005, Match Details
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