Van the man leads Kent to final

4 July 2008

Martin van Jaarsveld celebrates his hundred

Centuries from the prolific Martin van Jaarsveld and Joe Denly propelled Kent into the Friends Provident Trophy final at the expense of holders Durham today.

Van Jaarsveld followed up twin unbeaten tons against Surrey earlier this week with a 93-ball 122 not out, while Denly weighed in with 102 to set up an 83-run win at the Riverside.

Captain Dale Benkenstein gave Durham hope of overhauling Kent’s formidable 301 for four with 80 not out, but after a stand of 108 for the fourth wicket with Will Smith, the Dynamos’ innings began to fade.

Shaun Pollock rallied briefly but Durham lost their final five wickets for just 10 runs to relinquish the trophy they won so memorably last year.

Their task had always been a tall one after van Jaarsveld, already the leading run-scorer in the competition, delivered another masterclass.

He cracked three sixes and nine fours to take the game away from Durham despite some disciplined fast bowling from Steve Harmison, the pick of the home attack.

Kent made their intentions clear from the outset as Denly put on 96 for the first wicket with captain Rob Key, although both rode their luck in the early stages.

Denly’s first 50 came off 57 balls with eight fours but it was far from a chanceless effort.

He was dropped on 37 by a diving Smith, a difficult opportunity running back from cover, and survived several other scares.

He chipped deliveries just past the hands of Neil Killeen and Liam Plunkett, edged past Gareth Breese at slip and almost saw the ball roll onto his stumps after being struck by a Harmison yorker.

Harmison, introduced in the 15th over, went for 13 in his first but struck back to make the breakthrough when he had Key caught behind by Phil Mustard for 40.

In a fierce spell, in which he topped 90mph, Harmison also had Denly on the floor in trying to fend off a bouncer, but the Spitfires retained the upper hand.

Joe Denly shows his burgeoning talent with a ton

Van Jaarsveld rarely looked troubled and Denly also settled down in a second-wicket partnership of exactly 100.

Denly was finally bowled by Harmison off his pads after the paceman returned for a second spell in the 38th over.

Azhar Mahmood and Justin Kemp, attempting full-blooded shots, also had their stumps rearranged by Harmison but van Jaarsveld could not be shifted.

Harmison finished with 4-47 from two five-over spells but his team-mates were far more costly, particularly Pollock and Albie Morkel, who have stayed on with the county for the Twenty20 Cup quarter-finals.

Van Jaarsveld picked up the pace as the innings neared its conclusion and 56 came from the final five overs.

He slog-swept two sixes in one Morkel over to move closer to his century, which he brought up from 85 balls.

He hit a third maximum off the expensive Morkel in the last over and then flicked the ball over his own head for four more, leaving his compatriot with poor figures of 0-75 from seven overs.

Durham were in further trouble as Mahmood and Yasir Arafat struck early to reduce them to two for two in their reply.

Mahmood won an lbw verdict against Michael Di Venuto despite a hint of an inside edge and Phil Mustard then followed as he edged Arafat behind to a diving Geraint Jones.

Paul Collingwood, hoping to find form ahead of England’s first Test against South Africa, added 36 but his dismissal by Ryan McLaren left the holders in deep trouble at 56 for three.

Smith’s well-constructed 56 from 78 balls, in tandem with another controlled effort from Benkenstein, offered hope as the Dynamos reached 142 for three at the midway stage.

Dale Benkenstein sweeps for four but his knock was not enough to gain victory for holders Durham

Yet, it started to go wrong as Smith was trapped lbw by Darren Stevens and Morkel holed out to McLaren off James Tredwell soon after.

A couple of boundaries from Pollock revived the home effort but a fine diving catch by Kemp at deep square leg off Arafat ended his brief effort for 15.

Kent were not detained for much longer as Breese was stumped by Jones trying to reverse sweep Tredwell and the wicketkeeper then did brilliantly to run out Liam Plunkett.

Tredwell bowled Harmison to finish with 3-37 and the chaotic run out of Killeen saw Benkenstein lose his last partner.

Key hailed match-winner van Jaarsveld after another stunning performance.

Key said: "The week he has had 300 runs without being dismissed in three innings and a five-for thrown in, he is having pretty much a stormer. It doesn't get much better than that.

"And for Joe Denly, a young player coming in, to go out there like he did and get a hundred was brilliant.

"The senior guys are expected to turn it on but for him to do it against a proper attack - that was a serious attack - was great. He played without fear against people like Shaun Pollock.

"I think the reason we probably didn't get more was Steve Harmison, he was unbelievable."

Tredwell also earned praise from his captain, who said: "They were always up with the rate and it was tough to stop them from scoring. I had to take a punt and take the pace off the ball. We just built pressure."