Kent’s fightback on day two of their Rothesay County Championship game with Gloucestershire at Canterbury impressed head coach Adam Hollioake.
Opener Ben Compton again led the way, scoring an unbeaten 144 as Kent reached 318-7 in reply to the visitors’ 472.
“This is the first time we’ve been challenged,” said Hollioake. “The other sides have rolled over and let us tickle their belly a little bit.
“They’ve got some Australian test players in their side, and they’ve got some other good players. So, they’re going to be a side to be reckoned with.
“They’ve got out to a bit of a head start, that’s why I’ve been really proud of the way we fought back.
“We probably didn’t quite bowl as well as we could’ve done, but I thought they stuck at it. After 50 overs this pitch is going pretty easy paced, and I thought they stuck at it.
“I’m not saying we’re going to win every game and every session but we’re going to turn up with good attitude. I think these guys have played well.”
On Compton, who passed 3,000 first-class runs for Kent, Hollioake added: “He was like the rock of Gibraltar the whole way through that innings. I think he’s enjoyed the extra pace on the wickets this year, there has been a bit more pace than last year.
“He’s got a good technique so (is) able to cope with a bit of extra movement and pace that we’ve had. Highly skilled individual and really showing his class this year.’’
James Bracey made 151 not out as Gloucestershire posted 472. Kent’s Nathan Gilchrist took career best figures of 7-100, but the visitors total was boosted by no.11 Marchand de Lange’s 51 from 27 balls.
Gloucestershire resumed on 365-7 and despite losing Josh Shaw to the third ball of the morning, top-edging Gilchrist to Compton at deep fine leg, they dominated for the next hour.
Cameron Green, who retired on 100 with cramp on day one, moved to 112 before Gilchrist trapped him lbw, but de Lange came in and assaulted the bowlers, clubbing Jas Singh for two huge sixes over long on. He pushed Jack Leaning for a single through cover to reach his sixth first-class 50 before he finally holed out to the same bowler and was caught by Tawanda Muyeye.
Kent’s reply got off to a grim start when Zak Crawley went for one to a freak dismissal. He edged Tom Price to first slip, where Cameron Green dropped the ball onto his foot and it looped up for Bracey to complete the catch – Crawley walked while the umpires were still conferring.
Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond steered Kent to 49-1 at lunch but de Lange then got the latter for 37, caught at second slip by Cameron Bancroft.
Tawanda Muyeye was out for six, the victim of a brilliant diving catch by Ollie Price when he tried to cut Shaw. Leaning was then dropped when he was on seven after edging Tom Price to Bancroft, but he failed to cash in and was lbw for 16 to Ben Charlesworth’s third ball.
Charlesworth then had Joey Evison caught behind off the very next delivery leaving Harry Finch to survive the hat-trick ball.
Finch, batting despite a broken finger that forced substitute Chris Benjamin to keep wicket, helped Kent to 188-5 at tea, but he fell to an astonishing catch by Ollie Price soon afterwards. Having made 44, Finch pulled de Lange to backward square-leg. The fielder didn’t look like getting anywhere near it, but grabbed it one-handed in mid-air and somehow held on.
Compton brought up his hundred when he drove Tom Price for four and didn’t really offer a chance until he edged Charlesworth between Bracey and first slip when he was already on 131.
Grant Stewart, batting despite an abdominal strain that prevented him from bowling, took a single from Ollie Price to reach his half-century from 62 balls, but in the final over the same bowler had him caught by Miles Hammond at first slip to leave Kent five runs short of the follow-on target at stumps.
Report from ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
