Rewind: Warwickshire v Kent, 2010

Kent's County Championship visit to Edgbaston late in the 2010 season was literally a must-win match for Warwickshire. They needed a victory to sustain their great escape from relegation trouble and t

matc

2022-07-18T08:40:27.000Z

Kent's County Championship visit to Edgbaston late in the 2010 season was literally a must-win match for Warwickshire.

They needed a victory to sustain their great escape from relegation trouble and the seemingly hopeless position they had been in a few weeks earlier.

They did win, by 95 runs...thanks to two Bears through and through. It was the Woakes and Carter show as the two all-rounders shared 19 wickets in the match and contributed important runs in the low-scoring contest.

As a true Brummie, in the Edgbaston system since early boyhood, Chris Woakes is as Bears as they come. Neil Carter was born in Cape Town but bought wholly into the Bears as soon as he arrived at the club in 2001 and served brilliantly for over a decade.

In that crucial match in 2010 the two seamers - Woakes right-arm and Carter left - dovetailed to perfection.

First came a bit of vital tail-wagging with the bat. The Bears chose to bat but were in distress at 107 for seven before Ant Botha (76) and Woakes (30) began a revival which was then taken to unexpected heights by the unlikely figure of number 11 Imran Tahir. He thrashed 69 from 72 balls in a tenth-wicket stand of 118 with Botha which lifted the Bears to 294.

Woakes immediately bit deep into Kent's reply, bowling openers Joe Denly and Rob Key for ducks. The visitors' recovery was only ever partial as the former Aston Manor player took six for 52 and Carter three for 46 to dismiss Kent for 111.

There was some assistance from the pitch for the seamers and the Bears, whose batting had not distinguished itself all season, then slumped to 54 for eight second time round. To the rescue came Woakes (51, 41 balls) and Carter (26) who counter-attached for 72 in ten overs. The Bears reached 140, setting Kent a target of 324.

That total looked a very distant prospect after Woakes again took out both openers for single figures. This time he and 'Carts' shared all ten wickets to follow their nine in the first innings. Martin Van Jaarsveld batted skilfully for an unbeaten 110 but his partners were steadily unpicked by Woakes (five for 45) and Carter (five for 60).