Date-stamped : 17 Jun97 - 14:18 Kent caught cold on fiendish green strip By Simon Hughes at Old Trafford First day of four: Kent 151-5 v Lancashire IT WAS one of those can`t-see-the-Pennines mornings in Manch- ester, so inevitably play did not start until 3.15. When it did, the pitch was indistinguishable from an emerald green out- field. The Test wicket, five strips away, looked similarly meadow- like and is set to remain so. If it plays anything like this one, expect the third Test to be short and sweet. It is ironic this season that the two teams with the most ad- vanced attitude to fitness are the most broken down. Australia have used all manner of dieticians, trainers and physios here, yet have al- ready sent for reinforcements, and Lancashire`s in- volvement with the Uni- versity of Lancaster`s sports science department has been no guaran- tee. Yesterday`s absentees were Jason Gallian (finger) Wasim Akram (shoulder) Warren Hegg and Pe- ter Martin (back). The captain, Mike Watkinson (shoulder), only just made it. Still, Watkinson had no hesitation in inviting Kent to bat first. The Kent batsmen did not look particularly grateful, with some justification. The ball darted and leapt around fiendishly and they all found themselves fencing at thin air. The presence at one end of the Haslingden bowling machine, Ian Austin, enhanced the wicket-taking potential of his less consis- tent colleagues. Glenn Chapple produced numerous unplayable de- liv- eries and eventually found David Fulton`s edge, but ini- tially bowled a fraction too short. The lively Darren Shadford gave Matthew Walker too much room. Walker had already taken two fours off Shadford`s fifth over when he flailed at a third wide one and offered Graham Lloyd a much harder chance than one he had grassed earlier. Lloyd par- ried the ball one-handed and caught it in two. Trevor Ward and Mark Ealham were undone by excessive bounce and movement, and Alan Wells only kept his wicket intact with the help of the slip cordon. Meanwhile, Austin`s exemplary spell was re- warded when Matthew Fleming`s abject waft gave a tum- bling catch to the re- serve wicketkeeper, Jamie Haynes. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Phillips completes happy tale for Kent By Simon Hughes at Old Trafford Second day of four: Lancashire (113-5) trail Kent (373) by 260 runs KENT, the Benson and Hedges finalists, came into this game on a winning streak; Lancashire have not won a championship match yet this year. The discrepancy showed. Kent had the worst of the wicket yet still made far more runs than they should have. Lancashire`s top order then sank more or less without trace, bar an elegant innings from John Crawley. On a moist pitch gradu- ally crusting over, Zimbabwean leg-spinner Paul Strang bowled beautifully. That Strang had something to bowl at was due largely to the diligence of Ben Phillips who, coming in as nightwatchman on Thursday, eventually walked off unbeaten at 3.35 yesterday with a maiden century. Primarily a seam bowler, Phillips added 183 for the last wicket with Steve Marsh three weeks ago, and never looked flustered here despite the tricky conditions, defend- ing adeptly and driving with aplomb. His highest score before this season was two but with his No 11 score at Horsham of 65 not out and now this unbeaten century, he is more flesh and bones than tail. Alan Wells kept him company for the first hour, and Strang - em- ploying the off-side swat to good effect - for the third. There was about as much buzz in the fielders during this bright partnership as in a dead wasp. Lancashire`s mood was brightened while Crawley was stroking the ball around after tea. Martin McCague had already found a good one for Mike Atherton, OBE, who confessed the award had slipped his mind when confronted by photographers in the morning, but by the close, a follow-on was looming. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Lloyd adds spice to Lancashire recipe Simon Hughes at Old Trafford Third day of four: Kent (373 & 81-4) lead Lancashire (285) by 159 runs A SCINTILLATING century by Graham Lloyd pepped up Lancashire`s stew into a tasty hotpot, which was eagerly lapped up by their young pacemen when they took the field again. Rain allowed only one over after tea, but with a lively, chameleon pitch encouraging a positive approach, Lancashire`s run chase on Monday is bound to be diverting. If Kent bowl them out they will go top of the championship. Lloyd arrived at 86 for three on Friday and quickly saw Lan- cashire slip into the mire at 104 for five, 269 behind. He batted cautiously to the close, but yesterday morning began to attack, initially in rather premeditated fashion. Having eyed the square leg boundary, he attempted to pull something not especially short from former England bowler Martin McCague, top edging over the wicketkeeper`s head, and anything overpitched from Paul Strang was planted back over his head. With maximum power from minimum backlift he sped to fifty, well supported by the reserve wicketkeeper Jamie Haynes. Strang`s fluid leg breaks failed to find the same purchase as on the second day, and Lloyd flayed anything wide, scoring most of his runs in an arc between third man and extra cover. He also employed a flat-bat reverse sweep, and an audacious waltz across his stumps to clip straighter balls over mid-wicket. Kent these days are a happy, vibrant side, however, and not easily put out of stride. The lower half of their batting provided two thirds of their first innings total of 373 on Friday and yesterday the phleg- matic Zimbabwean Strang worked his way through the Lancashire lower order. Lloyd could not be contained, though, easing Lancashire past the follow on and driving Strang into the covers - the wheeled va- riety - for his third straight six. When another was brilliantly intercepted by Trevor Ward stretching above the long on boundary, he had made 122 off only 158 balls. He and England Test player John Crawley seemed to be the only Lancashire batsmen who could accurately read Strang`s googly. The back-foot competence of Matthew Walker and David Fulton got Kent off to a good start, and for once the metronomic bowling of Ian Austin was out of sync, but the introduction of Lancashire`s rookie fast bowlers put the outcome in the balance. The heftily-built Paul Ridgway found extra bounce for Walker, and Darren Shadford followed a creeper to Fulton with a brutish bouncer to former Sussex captain Alan Wells` first ball. Ward was missed at square leg, but clubbed the next delivery straight to cover. But with a frisky body and a fibrous tail, Kent can still set a demanding target. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) By Richard Bright at Old Trafford Kent (373 & 217-9 dec) bt Lancs (285 & 247) by 58 runs KENT underlined their ambition to dominate all facets of cricket this season by leaping to the top of the championship table at Old Trafford yesterday. They needed all but seven balls of the final day to overcome a side stricken by injuries and lack of self-belief, but victory was achieved with such certainty and poise that it is difficult to imagine Kent being dislodged for quite some time. It is just as difficult to foresee any change in Lancashire`s fortunes. They have not won a championship match since Septem- ber, and their last win at Old Trafford was in July 1995. John Crawley scored a century in each of those games and made 91 yesterday, but while Lancashire spiritedly kept going, his dismissal left them at 203 for five, too far short of their tar- get of 306. While Kent celebrated with high fives - they look and play like a happy bunch of cricketers - Lancashire must now ex- tricate themselves from a desperate situation. A glut of injuries forced them to use four second-teamers in this game, and they will suffer more chop- ping and changing when they meet Glamorgan at Aigburth, in Liverpool, tomorrow. Disenchanted members voiced criticism at a meeting with the committee last Saturday, and their frustration could soon turn into open hostility. At least Lancashire tried hard to make a game of it. Kent`s dec- laration, six overs after lunch, initially appeared a lit- tle late, giving them a minimum of 58 overs on a pitch where Paul Strang had already claimed seven first-innings wickets. A cau- tious start, and the early loss of Steve Titchard, might have persuaded them to opt for a draw, but coach Dav Whatmore had de- manded a good day`s cricket even if it meant defeat - and that is exactly what we got. Crawley and Mike Atherton added 67 before Martin McCague sent back the England captain for the second time in the match, but it was the third-wicket partnership between Crawley and Neil Fairbrother which posed most menace for Kent. Strang`s first two overs from the Stretford End were dealt with comfortably, Crawley punching him through midwicket to reach his half-century with an eighth four off 62 balls. And when the leg-spinner switched ends, Fairbrother immediately drove him over long-off for a six and square-drove him for four. Now the chase was really on. Fairbrother, however, departed in the next over, carving Matthew Fleming to cover, and soon afterwards Graham Lloyd ham- mered Strang straight to Ben Phillips at long-off at a stage when less than six runs per over were needed. The incident was typical of Lloyd, who comes off so often that Lancashire cannot complain when he occasionally blunders. Phillips, whose unbeaten century in the first innings had put Kent in control, then had Crawley lbw as he wandered across his stumps, and despite some fireworks from Mike Watkinson, Lancashire must have known that a draw was their only hope of salvation. They almost earned one, but Strang, bowling patient- ly and with intelligence, and the hard-working McCague produced the right result. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)