Saggers staggers Yorkshire

Kent 216-8 Yorkshire 208-8 Kent win by eight runs

Kent are making a habit of tight finishes. The other day they pipped Gloucestershire by one run, and yesterday they caused fibrillations among their fans as they went to the wire against Yorkshire.

It has to be said that they made it difficult for themselves, letting Anthony McGrath off the hook when he had made just seven. They then had to spend virtually the rest of the Yorkshire innings watching him compile his maiden hundred, and a very good one too, in this competition.

It took some nerveless bowling at the death by the Kent captain, Matthew Fleming, and England's Mark Ealham to keep the newly crowned county champions at bay. And, while McGrath and Craig White were hammering 108 runs off 21 overs, Yorkshire looked certs to ease away from the brink of the relegation zone.

Instead, Kent eased to within two points of the leaders Leicestershire in a dramatic final three overs which had begun with Yorkshire needing 20 runs with seven wickets in hand and ended with three wickets in four balls for Martin Saggers, and the end of Yorkshire's hopes.

James Hockley, whose misfortune it was to drop McGrath had earlier contributed an excellent half century, his second of the season in this competition, on the way sharing in an invaluable 86-run stand with Andrew Symonds.

During that third wicket partnership, the Australian smashed one of the longest sixes seen on the ground for many a day off Ryan Sidebottom's only over. Symonds unwound and launched himself into the ball which flew straight and high, careening off the pavilion tiles to land on the roof of the public-address announcer's car parked in the roadway behind: an estimated "carry" of around 120 yards.

Sidebottom had injured a knee while fielding shortly before being thrown the ball and that was cited as the reason for his departure from the field, but Symonds' six, plus a hard-hit four from Hockley a couple of balls later and a total of a dozen runs off the over may well have contributed to his decision.

Ealham added a veneer of respectability to the Kent innings after Darren Lehmann had claimed three wickets in eight balls to account for Matthew Walker, Hockley and Robert Key.

But McGrath's 141-ball innings, which contained a six and eight fours and White's 44 helped stretch Kent supporter's nerves deep into a gloomy evening before the issue was settled by Saggers' staggering finish.

* England descended to 137 all out and were then powerless to stop West Indies piling on 193 for 3 in their second innings by the close of a disappointing second day for the hosts in the third Under-19 Test at Riverside.