County Championship: Zak Crawley hits 91 to put Kent in strong position against Northants

Zak Crawley scored 60 runs more than the next best Kent batter - Sam Billings with 31 - against Northants

Zak Crawley hit 91 to put Kent in a strong position at the end of day two of their County Championship game with Northamptonshire at Canterbury.

The visitors were reduced to 47-2 in their second innings, still trailing by 58 at stumps after the hosts secured a first-innings advantage of 105.

Crawley was by some distance the top scorer in a game otherwise dominated by the bowlers.

Chris Tremain took 5-44 and Jack White 4-57 as Kent were all out for 222, while earlier Matt Quinn claimed 4-25 as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 117 in their first innings.

Only 26 overs were bowled on day one and although the weather had improved drastically when Northamptonshire resumed on 89-7, batting did not seem any easier as Quinn struck with the second ball of the morning, getting James Sales lbw for five.

Gareth Berg went down fighting, hitting three successive fours off Michael Hogan and he put on 32 with Tremain, but the highest partnership of the innings ended when Quinn had the latter caught behind for nine.

With his next delivery Quinn bowled White for a golden duck, leaving Berg stranded on 21.

Kent's openers Ben Compton and Crawley put on 42 for the first wicket, but the former was caught behind for 25, leaving the hosts on 50-1 at lunch.

The home side advanced to 90-1 when Tremain revived the visitors with two wickets in three balls. Daniel Bell-Drummond fell for 27 to a catch by Josh Cobb at short fine leg and Joe Denly was lbw for a second-ball duck.

Crawley steered Kent into the lead and reverse-swept Rob Keogh to reach 49, before pulling the same bowler to backward square leg for three to reach his half-century, but White then responded with two quick wickets.

Jack Leaning was lbw for 26 before Jordan Cox edged the third ball he faced down the leg side to Lewis McManus for five.

Kent had moved to 192-5 at tea and Crawley looked set to reach three figures but he misjudged a Tremain delivery and Berg took a dolly in the covers. Joey Evison then edged White behind for five and Grant Stewart was caught behind off Tremain for a four-ball duck.

With just the tail to bat with, Sam Billings hit out.

He was dropped in the deep by Tremain off White and smashed the next ball back over White's head for six, before he fell in hideous fashion to Tremain, the ball catching the toe of his raised bat before it looped to McManus.

Hogan was dropped in the slips off the next ball and he cracked the four that steered the Kent lead past three figures before the innings was concluded when White had Quinn lbw for two.

Quinn then had Ricardo Vasconcelos caught by a leaping Compton for four and Evison had Sam Whiteman caught behind for 12, but mildly farcical scenes ensued as the floodlights came on at 7pm, with batters Hassan Azad and Luke Procter apparently keen to leave the field.

After a lengthy discussion in the middle, play continued with Kent bowling their spinners Leaning and Denly for an over each, but no further wickets fell.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.