Grant Stewart hit a swashbuckling career-best century to lead an incredible Kent fightback on the opening day of the Rothesay County Championship match against Gloucestershire in Bristol.
Kent were struggling at 137-6 before Stewart joined forces with Chris Benjamin, putting together an unbeaten stand of 249 runs in 56 overs.
Stewart closed on 173 not out off 174 balls with 19 fours and five sixes, while Benjamin contributed a cautious yet chanceless 82 not out from 212 deliveries, as Kent reached 386-6.
Stewart and Benjamin’s seventh-wicket stand is a new record for Kent, eclipsing the 248 scored by Arthur Day and Punter Humphreys against Somerset at Taunton in 1908.
It was a remarkable turnaround in fortunes after Gloucestershire’s bowlers had dominated the first few hours, Ajeet Singh Dale claiming 4-97 and Tom Price and Josh Shaw weighing in with a wicket apiece to justify captain Cameron Bancroft’s decision to bowl first.
Benjamin said: “It’s great to beat a record that’s stood for 117 years and make a little bit of history.
“Grant and I had no idea while we were out there, but we were told when we came back in at close of play. To come back from 137-6 is a remarkable turnaround and it feels like a special day.
“When I came to the middle, we were in a spot of trouble and my mindset was to just stay there and bat for as long as possible. The ball was nipping around and Gloucestershire were bowling well, but it definitely became easier as the day wore on.
“It was definitely a day for me to just dig in and pay a supporting role and I had the best seat in the house to watch Grant’s innings. He’s a big, strong lad and he hits the ball hard.
“When he plays like that and things come off for him, it’s great to watch. He just played natural and went for his shots from the outset.
“It was a brilliant innings and, hopefully, we can keep going and build on it tomorrow.”
If Kent mindsets were fragile following defeat by an innings and 161 runs at the hands of Glamorgan last time out, Gloucestershire’s bowlers certainly took full advantage.
But the visitors will now feel they have the upper hand after Stewart and Benjamin turned the tables in comprehensive fashion.
Kent lost Harry Finch to Shaw’s second delivery of the day outside leg stump, offering a tame catch to James Bracey behind the stumps. That set the tone, Price sending down four maidens in five overs that yielded just one run as Ben Compton and Daniel Bell-Drummond fought to see off the new ball.
Their resistance quickly crumbled in the face of a fiery spell from Singh Dale, who generated impressive pace to remove both in the space of seven balls from the Ashley Down Road end. Bell-Drummond spooned an attempted drive to mid-on and Compton drove loosely at a delivery that pitched outside off stump as Kent slipped to 36-3.
Jack Leaning never looked comfortable, was squared up by Singh Dale and sent a looping catch to Bancroft at second slip, at which point Singh Dale boasted figures of 3-22 from five overs.
The only one of Kent’s top-order batsmen to play with any authority, Tawanda Muyeye made 25 before edging a ball that nipped off the seam to the reliable Bancroft.
Fresh from a Kent League century at the weekend, Jaydn Denly joined Benjamin to help Kent recover to 85-5 at lunch.
They added 63 in 15.3 overs before Singh Dale returned to break the partnership, beating Denly (39) for pace with a ball that ricocheted off bat and pad to hit the top of off stump.
Surviving Singh Dale’s second spell, Benjamin and Stewart found the going easier thereafter as the pitch flattened out and the shine disappeared off the ball. Adopting a forthright approach from the outset, Stewart was prepared to take risks and looked to get on the front foot and drive whenever possible.
He pulled Graeme van Buuren for six as the visitors reached the tea interval on a relatively healthy 225-6 at the end of a session that had yielded 140 runs for the loss of just one wicket.
Strong off his legs, Stewart positively rushed to the second first-class hundred of his career, edging Zaman Akhter to the fine leg boundary to raise three figures off 120 balls.
He hooked the next ball to deep mid-wicket and was caught by Tom Price, only for the unbalanced fielder to step over the rope and concede a six, an act which saw Stewart improve upon his previous highest score of 103 made against Middlesex at Canterbury in 2018.
Gloucestershire took the new ball as soon as it became available, but were unable to curtail Stewart’s lusty hitting as he remained unbeaten with eyes set on a possible double hundred on day two.
Report from ECB Reporters Network supported by Rothesay
