Kent had relegation from County Championship Division 1 confirmed as they were well beaten by Nottinghamshire in Canterbury on Thursday.
They lost six second-innings wickets inside the first hour on another awful day and, although Joey Evison (42) and West Indian overseas player Akeem Jordan (32) dug in to ensure Nottinghamshire had to bat again, the visitors cruised home by 10 wickets.
It means the 2025 season will be Kent’s first in Division 2 since before the coronavirus pandemic after eight red-ball defeats – and a solitary win – from 12 games this term.
After they had made it to 85-0 in their second innings the previous evening, Matt Walker’s men had given themselves the slightest slither of hope of the unlikely victory they required.
But Tawanda Muyeye went cheaply in the day’s first over for 60 in a sign of what was to come in another morning to forget for Kent.
He top-edged Jacob Duffy (4-60) in the air, attempting a characteristically aggressive shot, and was caught behind.
And Muyeye’s opening batting partner, Ben Compton, was adjudged to have been trapped in front by Lyndon James (1-43) to leave Kent 115-2.
Next to go was Jack Leaning, who nicked behind a peach from New Zealand overseas bowler Duffy.
Kent captain Daniel Bell-Drummond had played some nice shots and, alongside Joe Denly, had decided attack was the best form of defence.
But a change of bowling worked for Nottinghamshire as Denly was left punching his bat after he had edged Rob Lord (3-42) through to Freddie McCann in the slips.
With Kent still 75 runs behind making the away team bat again, Bell-Drummond succumbed to a Duffy beauty for 21 from 20 balls to leave the hosts 133-5.
Everything was going Nottinghamshire’s way and – still inside the first hour of play – a sensational grab by wicketkeeper Dane Schadendorf off Lord’s bowling saw Harry Finch go for a third-ball duck.
Evison and Matt Parkinson did offer some semblance of Kent resistance, however, and the latter scored his first run of the game shortly before midday off his 50th ball of the match.
The 27-year-old had offered a 29-ball duck the previous day but did get nine this time before he fell to a smart catch by McCann from the spin of 16-year-old Farhan Ahmed (2-53). That left Kent 156-7 – still 52 runs adrift of Nottinghamshire’s first-innings score.
Evison again remained, though, and delivered some decent blows alongside Jordan. They ensured Kent were trailing by 12 runs at lunch.
Jordan pulled Duffy for six to bring up the 50-run partnership and a single by Evison ensured Kent avoided a fifth innings defeat of their red-ball summer.
But the home side lost an eighth wicket in the same over when Jordan was trapped lbw by Ahmed.
Nathan Gilchrist then had his off-stump castled by a snorter by one-time Kent player Duffy for a third-ball duck to effectively leave Kent 1-9.
That left Evison to try and shepherd the strike as much as he could from No.11 George Garrett while trying to manufacture some “total” for the away team to be left to chase.
He did fairly well, putting on 21 runs with Garrett (4 not out), offering a couple of maximums, before he went when he was caught off Lord’s bowling.
Kent had Jaydn Denly and Jas Singh – on his 22nd birthday – on as substitute fielders, with the visitors needing 23 runs to win.
It took Nottinghamshire just 3.3 overs to get to their paltry target, Ben Slater (22 not out) wrapping things up with a six. Skipper Haseeb Hameed was unbeaten on six.
Basement boys Kent’s miserable campaign will come to a close at Durham from next Thursday in outgoing head coach Walker’s final match in charge.
