Thursday 10 July 2014 22:58, UK
Sam Northeast hit his first century of the season as Kent cruised to a six-wicket win against Leicestershire in their LV= County Championship Division Two game at Grace Road.
With Northeast making an unbeaten 112 off 143 balls Kent reached their victory target of 304 half-an-hour before tea on the final day.
Daniel Bell-Drummond and Brendan Nash also made half-centuries as Kent eased their way to 306-4, after starting the day on 66-1 and having what looked a challenging target in front of them.
However, the visitors scored 240 runs in 51.5 overs to make light work that, and the only time Kent looked in any trouble was when they lost two wickets in four overs before lunch.
It was Kent's third win of the season earning them 22 points, while Leicestershire's winless run in the Championship was extended to 26 games. The last time they won was September 2012.
A delighted Stevens said:" It was a good win for us. I think the key session was the 17 overs we faced on the third evening. If we had lost three or four wickets then it could have been hard work for us."
Nick Browne again halted Derbyshire's advance as his second unbeaten century of the game combined with a hundred from Ryan ten Doeschate helped Essex to a draw at Chesterfield.
The 23-year-old Browne made 100 not out and shared a fifth-wicket unbroken stand of 193 with Ten Doeschate (104) who scored his first century in the Championship in nearly a year as Essex ended on 243-4.
Derbyshire had set them 367 in 61 overs with Shivnarine Chanderpaul making 92 before the home side declared on 368-8.
Essex's chances of victory vanished when Mark Footitt took three wickets in four balls to reduce them to 19-3 but Browne played another mature innings and with Ten Doeschate, steered the visitors to safety 25 minutes into the final hour.
"It's been an outstanding game on a brilliant cricket wicket with a little bit in it for everyone,” said Essex head coach Paul Grayson.
"If you applied yourself with good shot selection you could score runs which was shown by the way Nick Browne played. For someone so young to play as he has in this game should give him a huge amount of confidence, it was an outstanding display of batting."
Gloucestershire ran out of time in their bid to inflict a first Division Two defeat of the season on Hampshire, James Vince and Sean Ervine each hitting half-centuries as the hosts survived a tense evening session at Southampton.
When Gloucestershire captain Alex Gidman shook hands on the draw there were only eight overs remaining, Hampshire were just six runs ahead and they had only four second-innings wickets left.
Two of those overs would have been lost in changing over the innings had Hampshire capitulated so that the visitors were left to rue a bland, lifeless wicket and rain over the first two days which proved so costly.
At the start of play, Gloucestershire were 446-5 - a lead of 149, with Will Gidman 109 not out and Benny Howell unbeaten with 17 - and needing to build on their substantial lead quickly with a declaration in the offing.
Will Gidman and Howell added a further 17 for the sixth wicket before Gidman was caught at the wicket off James Tomlinson for 119 - a valuable innings compiled over 186 balls and including 14 fours.
