Sam Northeast points way for Kent in promotion battle

Worcestershire lose ground in pursuit of top-two spot after being shot out for 217

Kent 238 and 197 for 3 (Northeast 96*, Crawley 54) lead Worcestershire 217 (Lategan 59, Hose 50, Mahmud 4-68) by 218 runs

Kent reached 197 for 3 at stumps on day two of their potentially pivotal Rothesay County Championship match with Worcestershire at Canterbury.

With both sides vying for promotion from Division Two, the hosts have ground out a significant lead of 218, with seven second-innings wickets remaining. Sam Northeast was their top-scorer with 96 not out while England's Zak Crawley scored his third half-century in his last five innings, making 54.

Earlier Worcestershire were shot out for 217, with Bangladesh Test star Hasan Mahmud taking 4 for 68 and Matt Milnes 3 for 52. Daniel Lategan and Adam Hose were their top-scorers with 59 and 50 respectively.

Worcestershire began day two on 80 for 2 and they prospered for over an hour before Lategan left one to Milnes and lost his off stump. Grant Stewart replaced Milnes at the Pavilion End and got Brett D'Oliveira for 7 with his first ball, when he slashed to Tawanda Muyeye at third, but in the same over he also found Henry Cullen's edge and Keith Dudgeon couldn't hold on to a tough chance at fourth.

Dudgeon atoned in the next over, getting Hose caught behind, before he trapped Cullen lbw with one that looked like it was going down.

Tom Taylor and Matthew Waite put on a mini-partnership to make it 180 for 6 at lunch, but both went early in the afternoon session. Hasan bent back Waite's middle stump and Milnes had Taylor caught behind four balls later.

Ben Allison mowed Milnes for six to bring up the 200, but Beyers Swanepoel then sliced Milnes to Dudgeon at point for six and Hasan had Adam Finch lbw to conclude the innings.

Kent's second innings began badly when Ben Compton uncharacteristically drove Taylor to Lategan at point for a duck, but Crawley and Northeast took them to 51 for 1 at tea. Crawley, however, got bogged down after passing 50 and was eventually caught behind trying to hook Finch.

Unusually there was a short run, when Tawanda Muyeye didn't make his ground on what should have been an easy two for Northeast, but Northeast crunched the next ball for four to pass 50.

Swanepoel had Muyeye caught at first by Allison for 23 and Northeast survived a strong lbw shout from Allison in the third over before the close, but he then brought up his 50 partnership with Daniel Bell-Drummond when he drove Allison for four off the fourth ball of the final over. That took Northeast to within four of his ton and temptation very nearly got the better of him when he went for a yahoo off the final ball of the day and just about got away with it.