Divison Two review: Bragg stars for Glamorgan
Monday 11 May 2015 19:13, UK
Glamorgan batsman Will Bragg scored his second hundred of the summer to ensure honours remained fairly even at the mid-point of their County Championship clash with Kent at Canterbury.
Bragg, fresh from a career-best 120 against Leicestershire in the first round of this season's Division Two games, hit a dozen boundaries in his 208-ball ton as Glamorgan posted 281 all out in response to Kent's season's best first innings total of 357.
The left-hander from Newport took advantage of a let-off with his score on 16 to reach the third hundred of his career and cut Kent's first-innings advantage to a mere 76 runs.
At the Oval, Kevin Pietersen blasted a perfectly-timed record first-class score of 326 not out to heap pressure on England's selectors to end his 15-month Test exile.
The 34-year-old surpassed his previous County Championship best of 254 in a mammoth innings for Surrey against Leicestershire, on the eve of Andrew Strauss' first public address as England's new cricket director.
The free-scoring star ended the second day with a maiden triple century, unbeaten on 326 with 34 fours and 14 sixes from 373 balls.
In Manchester, Gloucestershire took four wickets after tea to damage Lancashire's first-innings response to 388 during the second day of their match at Old Trafford.
Paul Horton's 15th Championship century had helped the Division Two leaders into a position of strength at 207-2 in the 52nd over of their reply, shortly after tea.
Horton shared 134 inside 28 overs for the third wicket with Ashwell Prince either side of tea, but Prince's departure for 57 was the first of four wickets to fall for 58 as Lancashire slipped to 265-6 in the 76th over. They closed on 276-6 from 81 with Horton unbeaten on 134 from 242 balls.
Finally, Northamptonshire were indebted to their lower-order batting - specifically England one-day international call-up David Willey (103) and Josh Cobb (95) in a seventh-wicket stand of 163 at Derby.
The visitors recovered from 101-6 against Derbyshire at the Racecourse to reach 324 all out - a deficit of only 19. Tom Taylor and Mark Footitt both took three wickets for the hosts, Derbyshire then moved to 76 without loss in their second innings before the close.
