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Viljoen, Billings keep up Kent pursuit
- Updated: August 31, 2016
Kent 211 for 5 (Billings 64) lead Sussex 180 (Brown 54, Viljoen 3-70) by 31 runsScorecard
In a normal year, Essex and Kent would be entering the final stage of the season sitting prettily for promotion. Both are showing signs of a rebirth and both have batsmen who deserve a Division One stage: Nick Browne, Tom Westley and Dan Lawrence at Essex; Daniel Bell-Drummond, Sam Northeast and Sam Billings at Kent. But this is no ordinary year.
Only the champions will be promoted this summer to enable the reduction of Division One to eight clubs to ease a congested fixture list. Kent, 24 points behind Essex with three matches remaining, need to close that gap before the sides meet in the final match of the season at Canterbury. The battle is far from over, but they remain the county most likely to suffer.
That situation demands not only winning, but winning well. Kent are neatly placed to achieve the first after bundling out Sussex for 180, but achieving 400 for maximum batting points will be far from straightforward after closing on 211 for 5, especially as they are fielding an extra bowler. From the moment that Steve Magoffin removed their top three with the new ball, continuing a recent burst of form, they were under pressure. They will have been grateful to see Darren Stevens dropped at slip late on.
Billings’ partnership Sam Northeast was an interesting, as well as a classy, retort on a glorious summer’s evening: Billings full of pent-up life; Northeast languidly looking on. They threatened to steal the game in a gorgeous sunlit spell, but Ajmal Shahzad had Northeast caught at second slip and Billings was lbw …
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