County Championship: Matt Parkinson bowls Lancashire to innings victory over Kent

Matt Parkinson clamed career-best figures of 7-126 from 52 overs

Matt Parkinson bowled Lancashire to an innings-and-five-run win as Kent lost their last six wickets for 46.

Kent resumed on 209-1 still needing 147 more to avoid an innings defeat, and lost Daniel Bell-Drummond (114) before Parkinson struck twice in two balls.

Joe Denly and Heino Kuhn put on 67 but fell in successive Danny Lamb overs.

Parkinson took 7-126, removing Darren Stevens for a duck before the England white-ball leg-spinner swept through the tail to bowl out Kent for 351.

Kent restored some pride as their improved batting efforts second time round took the game into the final session, but they remain winless this season, while in contrast back-to-back wins took Lancashire top of Group 3.

The hosts had a mountain to climb after being skittled for 169 in their first innings and were asked to follow on still a daunting 356 runs shy of Lancashire's imposing total of 525.

Bell-Drummond and Jordan Cox laid the foundations for a rescue act with a 176-run opening stand on day three.

However, the picture changed on the final morning when Kent lost three wickets for five runs as Bell-Drummond chopped on before Parkinson removed England Test batsman Zak Crawley (36) and Jack Leaning in successive balls, with Kent still 118 runs in deficit.

Joe Denly and Kuhn restored some calm with a 67-run stand until Lamb trapped Kuhn for 32 soon after lunch and then nipped one back to bowl Denly (31).

Six balls later in-form Stevens drove Parkinson straight to Rob Jones at cover as another three wickets fell in just 17 balls.

Ollie Robinson (28 not out) took the game into the final session with some stubborn resistance, but Parkinson returned to complete his maiden seven-wicket haul in first-class cricket.

Kent's Heino Kuhn:

"Lancashire are one of the sides you really want to beat, but they played well. They played a lot better than us. They just outplayed us in 90 percent of the game.

"We were feeling good, there weren't really any demons in the pitch. It's just one ball that changes the whole thing. You lose one and then you lose two or three.

"It's no use complaining about a couple of the dismissals. You get those in a game. We didn't score enough runs in the first innings. I don't think we batted well enough. And we didn't field well enough on day two."

Lancashire leg-spinner Matt Parkinson:

"It was probably the best four-day win I've had. Obviously a few of us will get the headlines but Josh's wicket of Daniel Bell-Drummond was massive.

"We fielded for 130 overs and there were times when we did doubt that we would win, but that's part of the attitude of the team now. On any surface, with any score, we'd back our bowlers.

"It was a long stint. Last week got me ready and to bowl 50 overs was awesome. I bowled two full sessions, so for Dane Vilas to trust me for that length of time and for me to perform was amazing."