Leaning, Evison, Denly dig in to ensure Kent go down with pride

Kent 353 for 8 dec (Leaning 84, Evison 77, Denly 63) drew with Durham 360 (Lees 144, Bedingham 66, Parkinson 6-109)

Excellent knocks from Jack Leaning, Joe Denly and Joey Evison steered already-relegated Kent to a creditable draw in their rain-affected Vitality County Championship clash at Durham.

Leaning and Denly led a good Kent batting performance, something that has been all too rare this season, and secured a draw on day four at the Seat Unique Riverside with some good batting with the tail from Evison.

Leaning and Denly came together after an early wicket for the hosts and combined for a partnership worth 124, with Kent finishing on 353 for eight as the captain’s shook hands at 4:20pm.

The draw gives Kent a good end to a disappointing season, with the county finishing bottom of Division One and as a result they will be playing in Division Two in 2025, where they will be targeting an instant return to the top tier.

Meanwhile for Durham, they have secured a mid-table finish in their first Division One season for eight years and there’s plenty of positives for the North East county to take from their first season back amongst the elite, most notably the emergence of youngsters Ben McKinney, James Minto and Daniel Hogg. They will look to close the gap to the top of the table next season, with Will Rhodes, Sam Conners and Emilio Gay all joining permanently for the next campaign.

In addition to that, depending on the schedule in 2025, they could also have England Test skipper Ben Stokes to call upon, he was spotted continuing his recovery from a hamstring injury at Chester-le-Street as he targets a return from injury for the Pakistan Test series.

Kent resumed on 96 for three after an eventful third day at Chester-le-Street, with skipper Leaning and nightwatchman Jas Singh at the crease.

Singh did his job and didn’t last long with him feathering a Bas de Leede ball down the legside to Ollie Robinson in the second over of the day.

Leaning played a lovely straight drive from the bowling of de Leede to get himself going on day four.

Denly looked in good touch and played a lovely cut shot on the offside for four as the former England man halted the hosts’ push for wickets along with his captain.

Leaning then reached his fifty from 108 balls to give the already-relegated visitors some hope of picking up a creditable draw in the North East.

At the other end Denly continued to find the boundary, with the experienced right-hander whipping a Chemar Holder delivery through mid-wicket for four.

Durham had a chance to get Denly out as he played an aerial shot off the bowling of Minto, but Callum Parkinson dropped it at fine leg. It was a drop that the hosts would later regret as Denly reached his half-century, which came from 82 balls and included five fours.

The visitors reached lunch without further loss and Leaning hit the first ball after the break through mid-wicket for four.

Parkinson then dropped Denly again after he failed to take a tricky return catch off his own bowling. However, it was third time lucky for the left-arm spinner as he got Denly caught and bowled for 63.

Leaning then quickly followed him into the pavilion for an excellent 84 after he pulled a de Leede delivery straight to Minto on the legside boundary.

Evison came to the crease and swung some momentum back to the visitors, with the all-rounder carving a Hogg delivery to the offside boundary and he then pummelled a Parkinson ball down the ground for six.

Marcus O’Riordan then departed after he edged a Hogg delivery to Colin Ackermann at slip for three.

Evison continued to motor alongside Grant Stewart as they took Kent past the follow-on target, but Stewart departed for 40 just after tea, handing Holder his first wicket of the match.

Evison reached his fifty from 67 balls and saw out the draw for the visitors alongside Matt Parkinson.

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