Old dog Stevens bares his teeth on new contract

Kent 389 for 7 (Stevens 107*, Denly 74, Northeast 56) v EssexScorecard

Kent beneficiary Darren Stevens hit an unbeaten century in what could transpire to be his final game for the county as the hosts posted 389 for 7 on the second day of their Specsavers County Championship clash with Essex.

After a first day wash-out and an uncontested toss, the 40-year-old all-rounder – whose contract expires at the end of the match – hit a typically belligerent unbeaten 107 to give his side the edge in this contest between the top two sides in the second tier.

Sam Northeast and Joe Denly also posted half-centuries as the hosts racked up four batting bonus points, leaving them to secure one more point from this final-round game in order to clinch second place, and with it the ECB’s prize money of almost £57,000.

Stevens, who went into this final round game in the midst of protracted talks over a new contract, said: “There was a bit of anger, frustration and disappointment in that knock today, but I’m delighted we’ve almost got to 400 as a team, that we’ve virtually secured second place and we’re now in a good position to go on and win the game.

“I love this place and I don’t want to go anywhere else, so my hope is that we can sort something out because I feel I’ve still got two years left in me. I still have passion for the club and for these lads and I want to be successful, so we’ll have to see what happens.

“I always love scoring runs and get more satisfaction from scoring runs being that Kent signed me as a batsman. I’ve obviously …

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