Date-stamped : 10 Aug97 - 11:43 Wells makes Essex pay By Geoffrey Dean at Canterbury First day of four: Kent 203-4 v Essex ESSEX`S weakened attack let Kent off the hook in conditions where the likes of Neil Foster and John Lever might have dis- missed them for under 100. The ball swung and seamed through- out, and several balls took off from just short of a length. Kent will be well pleased. So too will Alan Wells, whose relief at finally scoring his first century for his adopted county was evident after he reached the landmark with a huge swept six off Peter Such. The stroke was typical of Wells`s positive attitude in awkward cir- cumstances, but his second fifty was virtually presented to him by a plethora of wide long hops. Half of Wells`s 12 fours came from cuts. He unfurled a couple of classical on-drives as well as hitting Such for two other six- es, one straight and the other from a sweep. Graham Cowdrey supported Wells gutsily in a stand of 138 in 50 overs during which both were hit several times. Essex bowled just too short to find the edge after Ed Smith had nicked to first slip. The watching Lord MacLaurin and Tim Lamb might have pondered that their length was ideal for one-day matches. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) McCague pace rattles Essex By Geoffrey Dean at Canterbury Second day of four: Essex (80-5) trail Kent (525-9 dec) by 445 runs THE huge difference in the quality of the two attacks was highlighted in the final hour of a dismal day for Essex when Martin Mc- Cague produced a 12-over spell of magnificent hostil- ity. He took four wickets, and it should have been five, for he had Ronnie Irani dropped off successive deliveries. McCague was a fearful handful on this relaid pitch. Whereas it seemed to have flattened out from the first day when Essex bowled on it, McCague showed that it still possessed consider- able life, working up a ferocious pace and extracting steep bounce from short of a length. This was what undid Stuart Law when he rashly tried to cut and was beautifully caught high at first slip by Alan Wells. McCague`s pace was also too much for Paul Prichard, who was bowled off a bottom edge after failing to get in line, and Darren Robin- son who was lbw, late on a full-length ball. Night- watchman Neil Williams took the bait of a bouncer, top-edging to long leg, while debutant Tim Hodgson was well held at second slip by Trevor Ward. What was poor batting by Essex was no doubt partly the result of being kept in the field for nearly two days in at times sti- fling heat. Although they bowled both too waywardly and too short, Kent still batted with distinction to register their highest total in Canterbury Week since 1923. The two dozen tents were full and were treated to some out- standing strokeplay from the late middle order, notably Matthew Fleming whose 138 off 195 balls with four sixes was a career- best. Fleming had not reached fifty against county opposition in any form of cricket this season. Cuts, pulls and lofted drives were commonplace in an assured innings that alternated between unusual restraint and character- istic savagery. His most memorable shot was a pick-up for six off Danny Law that carried nearly 90 yards. Essex paid dearly for dropping him when on seven. With Paul Strang, who improvised brilliantly to reach his fifty off 36 balls, Fleming put on 92 in 10 overs. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Kent v Essex Third day of four: Essex (156 & 277-5) trail Kent (525-9 dec) by 92 runs KENT`S victory blueprint for this key match continued to go to plan at Canterbury yesterday, writes Geoffrey Dean. They swept away Essex`s last five first-innings wickets in just 21 balls, enforced the follow-on and would have won inside three days but for Paul Prichard`s excellent unbeaten 171 off 226 balls, his highest score for four years. Prichard, who batted with a runner from 69 onwards, achieved the remarkable feat of moving from 76 to 100 with six fours in six balls. First, he cut and pulled Matt Fleming for four consecutive boundaries; then, he swept his next two deliveries - from Paul Strang - to the mid-wicket fence. It was much-needed bravado after Essex`s feeble first innings. One superlative catch by Strang proved crucial. Ronnie Irani and Paul Grayson had survived the first 68 minutes of the day when Strang, hurling himself to his left at cover, somehow clung on one- handed to Grayson`s back-foot force. Two balls later, Irani edged to second slip. Essex prospered at the second attempt in ideal batting condi- tions. The pitch had lost much of its life, offering turn only out of the rough, and the ball hardly swung as Kent`s bowlers tired in the ex- treme heat. Surprisingly, Stuart Law did not cash in, bowled - in Aus- tralian parlance - by a ripper from Fleming that cut back. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Kent lifted by a Strang finish By Geoffrey Dean at Canterbury Kent beat Essex by an innings and 8 runs KENT went back to the top of the championship yesterday after a thumping innings victory against Essex, who can now be dis- counted as genuine title pretenders. This was an impressive all-round performance by Steve Marsh`s side, who must now be favourites to win their first championship since 1978. A look at the fixture list reveals a favourable run-in with home games against Gloucestershire and Surrey and visits to Portsmouth, Taunton and Headingley. Essex, by contrast, have still to meet War- wickshire, Glamorgan, Lancashire and Middle- sex. Paul Prichard just failed to carry his bat, being last out at 12.35pm for an outstanding 224 from 295 balls. The other four wickets to fall yesterday were taken by Paul Strang in an impres- sive 10-over spell. Danny Law, Robert Rollins and Neil Williams were all caught at silly point by the alert Trevor Ward before Steve Andrew holed out at deep backward square. This gave Strang his third five-wicket haul of the summer and a 47th championship wicket to go with 518 runs. When you throw in his superb fielding (his catch at cover to remove Paul Grayson was one of the catches of the season), and his "exceptional at- titude" (Matt Fleming`s words), you have an overseas player of the highest order. Kent, therefore, face the dilemma of whether to retain him next year in favour of the contracted Carl Hooper, whom they would then have to pay off. The consistent under-performing of the top order this summer could sway the decision in favour of Hooper, but Strang gives the side better balance. Like Aravinda de Silva before him, he is huge- ly popular and it is rumoured that coach John Wright favours him ahead of Hooper. Strang is keen to play county cricket next year at whatever county will have him. "I`ve enjoyed it enormously here, espe- cially with such a good bunch of guys. I`d have liked to have played on a few more turning wickets, but I`ve really learnt the value of pa- tience," he says. He is a true professional - on Friday night he turned down a team-mate`s invitation to go out, staying in for the evening at his Canterbury flat to conserve his energy for yesterday. He was at the ground by 9am to do some extra stretching, having driven in the sixth car Kent have given him this year. That must be a record for an overseas player. Source :: The Electronic Telegraph (http://www.telegraph.co.uk/) Contributed by The Management (help@cricinfo.com)