Wakely praises Northants for showing fight at Kent

Skipper Alex Wakely saluted his players for the fight they showed during four difficult days at Beckenham.
Alex Wakely was happy with Northants' recovery at Kent (picture: Dave Ikin)Alex Wakely was happy with Northants' recovery at Kent (picture: Dave Ikin)
Alex Wakely was happy with Northants' recovery at Kent (picture: Dave Ikin)

Wakely’s men were up against it after Kent declared on 701 for seven on the second day of the Specsavers County Championship Division Two clash.

But Northants battled with the bat, racking up 568 all out, with Ben Duckett, Max Holden and Adam Rossington hitting centuries.

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That ensured the away side would avoid the follow on and Kent decided against setting up a run chase on the final day, taking to the middle and eventually declaring on 184 for three as the game ended in a draw.

And Wakely said: “I thought they might have given it a bit of a go today, even without the follow on, by declaring again and trying to put pressure on us at the end of the match even though there wasn’t a realistic chance of getting a result.

“But, then again, it was a flat wicket and their bowlers had sent down a lot of overs – and we’ve all got a busy schedule of T20 Blast games coming up.

“I’m just very pleased with the way we came back with the bat after conceding 700 and getting no bowling points!

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“To score what we did in our own first innings and to come away with nine points in all is a fair effort in very hot conditions.

“I thought the way we fought and scrapped for every run was very pleasing and reflected excellently on our guys.

“It was also great to see Ben Duckett continue his return to form and both Max Holden and Adam Rossington both played superbly for their hundreds.

“Max goes back to Middlesex now at the end of his initial loan, and is also captaining England Under 19s of course in the next month or so, but perhaps we’ll see him again for championship cricket in September. He’s been great for us and we’d love to have him back.”