Day Three
Warwickshire banked their first Vitality County Championship victory of the season in the most emphatic fashion, by an innings and 21 runs over struggling Kent, well inside three days at Edgbaston.
Kent were bowled out in their second innings for 243 on the third morning as Warwickshire’s seamers completed the demolition job they start on their opponents on the first morning.
Bowled out for 156 first time round, Kent mustered little more at their second attempt even against the Kookaburra ball on an easing pitch as Oliver Hannon-Dalby took six for 43 (nine for 74 in the match).
Only Joey Evison (65, 103 balls) offered prolonged resistance as the visitors’ dismal season delivered a sixth successive championship defeat and another shunt towards relegation.
After Kent resumed on the third morning on 157 for three, they advanced comfortably enough to 171 before Hannon-Dalby hit them with a burst of three for six in 14 balls. Sharp in-duckers trapped Jack Leaning and Muyeye lbw and Charlie Stobo sent his first ball to Rob Yates at second slip.
Hannon-Dalby was six tenths of the way to an all-10 but that pathway was ended by Ed Barnard who trapped Grant Stewart lbw and followed up with the wicket of Matt Parkinson, who edged to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.
Alfie Ogborne edged Michael Rae to slip before Evison, running out of partners, lifted Barnard for six to reach a 93-ball half-century. Evison batted impressively in both innings but when another attempt to clear the ropes, off Michael Booth, found only Alex Davies at long on, another championship ordeal for Kent was complete.
Their championship Division One status will expire shortly but Warwickshire’s appears safe for another year after this victory as other teams in the bottom half of the table struggle in their games around the country.
Day Two
Will Rhodes marked his penultimate home game as a Warwickshire player with a double century to put his side in command of Kent in the Vitality Championship at Edgbaston.
Rhodes struck a chanceless 201 (295 balls, 32 fours) to lift Warwickshire to 420 and a first innings lead of 264.
Rhodes’ six-and-a-half hour marathon laid a foundation for his side to press hard for their first championship win of the season. Needing 264 to avoid an innings defeat, Kent closed the second day on 157 for three as Olly Hannon-Dalby (three for 26) took his championship wicket tally this season to 40.
Kent’s multitude of problems continues to mount. Their bowling attack, nobly led by George Garrett (three for 76) and Matt Parkinson (three for 94), was deprived of Grant Stewart by a shoulder injury while Tawanda Muyeye could not open the batting as he was unable to field due to a knee injury.
When Warwickshire resumed on the second morning on 207 for three, their progress was immediately brisk. Rhodes struck the first ball of the day to the boundary and five fours from his first 17 balls faced in the session took him to a 151-ball century.
Jacob Bethwell edged Charlie Stobo to wicketkeeper Harry Finch but Rhodes and Barnard rattled up a century stand in 150 balls. The fifth-wicket stand reached 145 in 34 overs before Barnard lifted Parkinson to mid off.
The last six wickets then fell for 46 as Warwickshire, miles ahead already, threw the bat. Michael Burgess pulled Joey Evison to deep mid-wicket, Michael Booth lifted Parkinson to extra cover and Michael Rae larruped the spinner for six but was then stumped off him. Garrett finished the innings by having Rhodes caught at deep square and knocking out Hannon-Dalby’s off stump.
Kent started their second innings after tea with 43 overs to bat in the day and lost Ben Compton in the fifth of them when he edged a loose drive at a wide ball from Hannon-Dalby to wicketkeeper Burgess.
Harry Finch, opening in Muyeye’s absence, and Bell-Drummond added 116 in 29 overs without many alarms but Lady Luck then truly turned her back on Kent in the closing overs as Bell-Drummond was adjudged lbw and Finch (38, 96) given out caught at slip.
Day One
Warwickshire took a firm grip of this crunch County Championship Division One clash at Edgbaston after a seam onslaught bowled Kent out for 156.
The visitors were skittled in just 39.5 overs by a three-pronged pace attack of Olly Hannon-Dalby, Chris Rushworth and Michael Booth before the Bears batters reached 207 for three at the close.
Booth (three for 13), Hannon-Dalby (three for 31) and Rushworth (three for 43) dismantled a Kent batting order in which only Ben Compton (70, 103 balls) and Joey Evison (28, 44) reached double figures.
Warwickshire completed their excellent day by moving 51 ahead with seven wickets intact, Will Rhodes compiling a measured unbeaten 82 (134 balls) to build a perfect platform for a belated first championship win of the season.
Warwickshire chose to wield the Kookaburra ball first and took just four balls to strike with it. Tawanda Muyeye, fresh from 211 against Worcestershire at Canterbury last week, sliced the first ball from Hannon-Dalby to the third man boundary and edged the fourth, a perfectly-pitched outswinger, to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.
Muyeye copped an unplayable delivery, but Daniel Bell-Drummond was culpable five overs later when he edged a footwork-free waft at Rushworth to third slip.
When Jack Leaning edged Hannon-Dalby to first slip, Kent were in distress at 44 for three.
Compton and Evison added 57 in 13 overs before the vestige of resistance was torpedoed by a collapse just before lunch. Evison (28, 49) edged Ed Barnard to Burgess and Booth took three wickets in 11 balls to gallop to career-best figures. Harry Finch and Charlie Stobo edged to Burgess and Grant Stewart miscued to point.
Compton reached a defiant half-century from 74 balls but lost an eighth partner when Matt Parkinson edged Rushworth behind and a ninth when Alfie Ogborne sliced Hannon-Dalby low to second slip. Compton was within sight of carrying his bat when he pulled Hannon-Dalby to square leg to supply the bowler with his 500th wicket in all formats for Warwickshire.
If Kent looked devoid of confidence with the bat, they did so equally with the ball as Warwickshire openers Rob Yates (40, 53) and Alex Davies (37, 35) added 62 in 11 overs.
Somerset loanee Ogborne trapped Davies lbw and Yates edged former Bears team-mate George Garrett behind but Rhodes and Hain, with tons of time and the weather forecast excellent for the duration of this match, added a sedate 94 in 30 overs.
Hain played on to the impressively persevering Ogborne but Rhodes is within 18 runs of his 11th first class century.
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