When Tom Lungley, with a roaring west wind behind him, made the sixth ball of a rain-interrupted day rear up and remove Geraint Jones for 108, it seemed batting might prove almost as precarious for Kent as football had been for their unfortunate colleague, Joe Denly.
Although their last five wickets fell for 49 in 75 minutes, however, as Steffan Jones completed best figures since June, 2007, Chris Rogers, who raced to his third century in seven innings, made hay in an opening stand with Wayne Madsen that further seized the intitiative of a crucial match.
Jones, a Kent bowler at the start of the season, returned five for 35 in a disciplined display which his former team-mates notably failed to match. A series of half-volleys granted 62 runs in eight overs after tea to invigorate the reply and Rogers passed his landmark from 130 balls after Madsen had reached fifty from 88.
The main victims of this onslaught were the inexperienced Phil Edwards and the England fast bowler, Amjad Khan, who was withdrawn from the attack after a three-over second spell had disappeared for 27. Returning for another burst in late sunshine, Khan suffered the indignity of seeing Rogers upper cut a bouncer over third man’s head for six.
Kent have long seemed promotion certainties but have periodically indulged in slip-ups, losing to Essex and Middlesex at home. Here, Jones’s century gave them control overnight but, with the pitch easing perceptibly, they are in severe danger of letting this game get away.
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The measure of Derbyshire’s revival, even in a match that has lost 54 overs to the rain, can be gauged from the fact that they have produced only 11 200-run, first-wicket stands in their championship history. A further 14 runs would see Rogers and Madsen extend that list today.
In the morning, their trio of pace bowlers operated in brief spells downwind as Graham Wagg bowled mainly left-arm spin from the Grandstand End. After Lungley’s early strike, Jones undid Alex Blake for an impressive 44 in his second championship innings when, cutting, he was astounded to see Garry Park bring off a magnficent, diving catch at point.
Simon Cook tamely returned a catch to Wagg before Khan fell to Tim Groenewald’s outswing and Edwards’s thin edge, hooking, completed Jones’s first five-wicket bag for 14 months. The odds on Derbyshire’s openers still being together after 52 overs to the close were slender indeed, but they remain to seek victory in a match transformed.
Kent: First Innings
(overnight 232-5)
G O Jones c Madsen b Lungley 108
A J Blake c Park b Jones 44
J C Tredwell not out 22
S J Cook c and b Wagg 2
A Khan lbw b Groenewald 0
P Edwards c Pipe b Jones 5
Extras (lb 15, w 1, nb 8) 24
Total (83.5 overs) 281
Fall of wickets: 1-34, 2-46, 3-68, 4-121, 5-158, 6-234, 7-258, 8-263, 9-264.
Bowling: Lungley 17-1-56-3; Wagg 21-3-86-1; Jones 20.5-6-35-5; Groenewald 16-2-52-1; Smith 6-0-27-0; Park 3-0-10-0.
Derbyshire: First Innings
*C J L Rogers not out 116
W L Madsen not out 65
Extras (lb 5) 5
Total (no wkt, 52 overs) 186
G T Park, G M Smith, W W Hinds, J L Sadler, D J Pipe, G G Wagg, T D Groenewald, T Lungley and P S Jones to bat.
Bowling: Khan 12-1-51-0; Cook 12-3-30-0; Edwards 6-1-40-0; Kemp 6-2-10-0; Tredwell 16-2-50-0.
Umpires: T E Jesty and V A Holder.