Kent see off Notts

Ryan McLaren edges Kent towards a three-wicket win

LV County Championship Division One leaders Nottinghamshire suffered their first defeat of the season after Kent completed a three-wicket win in a gripping match at Trent Bridge.

The visitors needed another 115 for victory at the start of play but two wickets in two balls from England’s Ryan Sidebottom kept Notts in the hunt.

Martin van Jaarsveld made 63 – his seventh innings of 50 or more in all competitions so far this season – before an unbeaten eighth-wicket partnership of 71 from Ryan McLaren and Yasir Arafat finished the job.

McLaren hit the winning runs off the part-time spin of Samit Patel to finish unbeaten on 37 while Arafat was 36 not out.

Resuming on 129 for four, Kent’s main hope of victory rested on the shoulders of stand-in captain van Jaarsveld, who started the day on 45no.

He had to deal with an in-form Sidebottom and received an unplayable delivery first up from the England star which shaped in before seaming away.

South African van Jaarsveld survived a testing over and reached his fifty from 79 balls, with eight boundaries, with a leg glance off Stuart Broad and then pulled Charlie Shreck for another four.

But an inspired decision by Sidebottom to come round the wicket paid dividends with his second ball as van Jaarsveld saw his off stump flattened.

Notts captain Chris Read then stepped up by posting Mark Ealham to leg gully for Geraint Jones, who promptly fended off a bumper straight to the waiting fielder.

Suddenly the game had swung back in favour of the hosts and the situation looked even bleaker when Justin Kemp was defeated by a slower ball from Shreck and drove to cover for 19.

That left the visitors needing another 71 runs with only three wickets left.

But Kent’s overseas all-rounder Arafat had rescued his side in their first innings with an aggressive 67 and was immediately on the attack again with a crashing drive through the covers.

And with McLaren providing some watchful defence, the pair added 51 before lunch was taken with only 20 more runs needed.

Sidebottom switched to the Pavilion End in an attempt to prise out the last three Kent batsmen after the interval, but two boundaries from McLaren settled any remaining nerves.

A pull for four off Patel then handed Kent the win with 60.3 overs to spare.