Cricket: Smith sparks rapid rout of Kent

DERBYSHIRE MADE short work of Kent to record a 10-wicket victory well inside three days at Canterbury yesterday in the County Championship.

First, Trevor Smith (four for 38) finished off Kent's second innings for 220 when he finally shifted Martin McCague to close a determined last- wicket stand of 61 with Mark Ealham (88no). Then the Derbyshire openers - Adrian Rollins (33no) and Michael Slater (20no) - raced to a victory target of 62 in just 10.1 overs to earn a day and a half off, while all but one of the remaining matches moved into day three of four.

The Middlesex captain, Mark Ramprakash, hit his first century of the season but could not prevent his team conceding a first-innings lead to Gloucestershire, for whom the seamer Jon Lewis finished with 5 for 79 at Bristol. Ramprakash (101), whose hundred came up in 260 balls and contained 16 fours, steered his team towards 268 all out in reply to the hosts' 297. Second time around, Gloucestershire were 15 for nought.

The day's second centurion, Toby Peirce (116no), kept Sussex in control against Glamorgan at Cardiff, despite losing Rajesh Rao for a duck to the off-spin of Robert Croft.