Kent v Derbyshire: Scores & match report

Close of play day three scores (Canterbury)

Kent beat Derbyshire by 169 runs

Kent 1st inns: 259 all out (Dickson 41, Parnell 41, Bell-Drummond 38; Reece 3-38, Davis 3-59)

Derbyshire 1st inns: 159 all out (Madsen 56, Thakor 44; Stevens 6-47)

Kent 2nd inns: 308 all out (Rouse 95*, Stevens 90; Davis 3-48)

Derbyshire 2nd inns: 239 all out (Wilson 97; Harris 4-56, Stevens 3-63)

Day three report

Kent romped to their second successive three-day victory in Canterbury and to a third Specsavers County Championship win on the trot after defeating Division Two rivals Derbyshire by 169 runs.

After setting the visitors a nominal victory target of 409, Sam Northeast's unbeaten side coasted home with a day and 28 balls to spare after dismissing the visitors for 239 second time around, despite a counter-attacking 97 from Gary Wilson.

Kent's in-form all-rounder Darren Stevens snaffled another three victims, for nine in the match and 22 for the season to date, while James Harris returned four for 56 - his best figures since joining on loan from Middlesex.

Batting after lunch and with a mountain to climb, Derbyshire lost skipper Billy Godleman in only the fourth over of the reply. The left-hander's airy drive against Stevens flew off a thick edge and into the hands of James Tredwell at second slip.

Then, with 21 on the board Shiv Thakor, driving with an open bat face to one from Wayne Parnell, clipped a catch to Joe Denly in the gully to depart for six.

After receiving treatment for a blow on the knee, Luis Reece fended at the next delivery from Harris to edge to slip before Wayne Madsen departed leg before to Matt Coles.

Harris then bagged another by plucking out Darren Smit's leg stump via an inside edge to leave Derbyshire on 78 for five.

Wilson led a partial Derbyshire recovery either side of tea by scoring an enterprising 46-ball 50 with 10 fours that knocked Kent's attack temporarily out of kilter.

After contributing 12 to a sixth-wicket stand of 80 in tandem with Wilson, Alex Hughes pushed at a Stevens away-swinger and nicked behind to see Adam Rouse tumble in front of slip and take an athletic catch.

Then Jeevan Mendis smeared across the line against Stevens to edge once more to Rouse.

Harris switched ends to the Nackington Road and, with his third ball down the slope, had Tom Milnes caught behind. And with Wilson only three short of his maiden championship century, Harris jagged one back off the seam to trap the right-hander leg before.

Coles polished the job off soon after by having Will Davis caught at mid-off to signal Kent celebrations.

Earlier, wicketkeeper Rouse narrowly missed out on a maiden first-class hundred as the hosts batted through to lunch in adding a further 166 to their second-innings total.

Rouse was left high-and-dry on 95 when last man Tredwell chipped a tame catch to mid-on to give Madsen his sole wicket of the game and end Kent's innings with 308 on the board.

Resuming on their overnight score of 142 for seven, Kent's eighth-wicket partners Rouse and Stevens continued to bat positively in extending their side's lead.

Having reached his season's best score, Stevens was only 10 short of a century when he fell to leg-spinner Mendis, departing lbw having added 90 in tandem with Rouse.

Zimbabwe-born Rouse went on to record only his second half-century in first-class cricket from 65 balls, with 11 fours. Not content with that, the 24-year-old improved on his previous career-best of 65 in first-class cricket, posted against Glamorgan in Cardiff last June.

After helping to add 83 for the ninth wicket, Harris (32) became Kent's second casualty of the day, clipping a low catch to Reece at mid-wicket off the bowling of Davis. However, by then the hosts were already 384 ahead and that were able to push that lead beyond the 400-mark.

Davis was the pick of Derbyshire's attack with three for 48 while Tony Palladino and Milnes picked up two wickets apiece.

The win lifted Kent up to second place in Division Two, while Derbyshire banked only three points after suffering an indifferent three days in the south east.

Day two report

Evergreen all-rounder Darren Stevens bagged six for 47 and smashed a quickfire 53 not out during an action-packed day that saw Kent build a priceless 242-run lead over Derbyshire.

Nineteen wickets fell on day two of the Specsavers County Championship clash, with Stevens' medium pace appearing virtually unplayable as Derbyshire lost their last eight wickets for 68 runs to concede a 100-run first innings deficit.

Batting for a second time by 4.45pm, Kent then stuttered themselves, losing seven wickets after tea before Stevens - who turns 41 on April 30 and has been nicknamed 'Benjamin Button' by captain Sam Northeast, after the Brad Pitt movie character who ages in reverse - came in to dominate centre stage by clubbing his fourth championship 50 of the summer and his 74th of an illustrious first-class career.

Kent's openers had departed in quick succession, Sean Dickson lbw to Tony Palladino while Daniel Bell-Drummond fenced to third slip off Will Davis to go for 23.

After suffering a first-innings golden duck, Joe Denly was bamboozled by a Davis slower ball and chipped to cover for six then, with only 49 on the board, Northeast steered Tom Milnes to second slip.

Will Gidman gifted wicketkeeper Gary Wilson a catch and Palladino his 250th first-class wicket for Derbyshire, while Wayne Parnell heaved across the line to have middle stump plucked out by Milnes.

Billy Godleman pulled off a stunning overhead catch at wide mid-off to account for Matt Coles but Stevens and Adam Rouse (24no) continued to go for their strokes until play eventually ended just before 7pm.

Kent's first innings had earlier ended on 259 after a half-hour delay to start the day.

Rouse made 29 first time around but fell to the fourth ball of the day, but Coles brought up a second batting point before falling to Davis - who took four for 75, with Luis Reece adding three for 38.

Derbyshire started their reply at 11.57am and were already deep in trouble by noon. Opener Luis Reece shouldered arms at Parnell's third delivery to lose his off stump and depart without scoring then, eight deliveries later, fellow opener Godleman edged Stevens low to third slip.

Either side of lunch Wayne Madsen and Shiv Thakor led a partial fightback with an enterprising third-wicket stand worth 87 that ended when Thakor (44) nicked a Stevens away-swinger to first slip.

That sparked a collapse that saw the visitors lose their last eight wickets in 22 overs as Stevens collected his third five-wicket haul in as many championship games, including Darren Smit lbw and Wilson bowled for a duck.

After a nicely compiled 56 in two hours, Madsen erred in a late decision to shoulder arms against Parnell, allowing the ball to glance off the bat face to third slip where Gidman snaffled a seventh catch of the campaign.

Alex Hughes feathered a Stevens away-swinger to the wicketkeeper then Milnes had off stump pegged back by Stevens.

Coles replaced Parnell to have Palladino caught at square leg, leaving James Harris to polish off the innings as Jeevan Mendis edged leg-side to a tumbling Adam Rouse behind the stumps.

Day one report

Derbyshire's seamers recovered from a patchy opening hour to offer the Kent batsmen a stern examination on the opening day of their Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash at an overcast Canterbury.

When bad light ended play with 15 scheduled overs remaining, Kent had battled on to reach 238 for eight, having been seemingly in charge and sitting pretty at 83 without loss after the opening 99 minutes of the match.

Fielding first after an uncontested toss, Derbyshire's bowlers made a sloppy start in offering too many legside and overpitched deliveries which Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson (41) happily dispatched to pick up 15 boundaries in their opening stand.

That was the precursor to a dramatic collapse that saw the hosts lose four wickets for five runs in the space of 15 deliveries.

Will Davis started the rout with two wickets in as many balls. Dickson drove loosely at a wide awayswinger to nick to the wicketkeeper, then Joe Denly departed for a duck when he played outside the line of an inswinger to go lbw after barely moving his feet.

Sam Northeast survived the hat-trick delivery, but Bell-Drummond followed for a season's best 38 when he nibbled at one from left-armer Luis Reece for Darren Smit to dive in front of first slip and pull off a stunning one-handed catch.

Kent's misery continued when Will Gidman (0) played outside a Davis inswinger to go leg-before as Kent limped in at lunch on 91 for four, while despite bowling the tidiest of bowling tints, Tony Palladino ended the session wicketless.

In-form fifth-wicket partners Northeast and Darren Stevens hauled their side's total into three figures after lunch but, with his score on 17, the latter got a leading edge to a late-swinging delivery from Tom Milnes to chip a low, return catch back to the bowler.

After helping to post 48 for the sixth wicket Northeast departed for 32 after 103 minutes at the crease. Pushing with firm hands at one from Reece, the Kent skipper edged behind to give Gary Wilson, the keeper, a second catch.

Fresh from an unbeaten half-century at Hove in his only previous innings of the season, Wayne Parnell contributed a useful 41 before he fell to Reece. Prodding down and squared up by late away swing, the left-hander edged to third slip to make it 193 for seven.

James Tredwell and Adam Rouse saw Kent through to 200 for their first batting bonus point but, with his score on seven, Tredwell perished to the fifth ball of the day from leg-spinner Jeevan Mendis. 

Working across the line to one that dipped late, Tredwell went lbw to one that hit him flush on the right boot.

The floodlights came on for the final session of the day and, after an initial 10-minute stoppage for bad light, the day's events finished early at 5:51pm with Rouse, who played the longest innings so far, and James Harris still unbeaten with their side still 12 shy of a second batting bonus point.