Kellaway best sees Glamorgan pile pressure on Kent
Ben Kellaway has improved his best Championship score in three successive matches
- Published
Rothesay County Championship Division Two, The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury (day two)
Glamorgan 549-9 dec (132 overs): Kellaway 181*, Tribe 94, Ingram 70; Kashif Ali 4-92, Parkinson 3-149
Kent 156-8 (58 overs): Benjamin 68*; Van der Gugten 3-23, Harris 3-40
Kent (2 pts) trail Glamorgan (6 pts) by 393 runs with two first-innings wickets standing
A stunning innings of 181 not out from Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway boosted his side to a massive 549 for nine declared against Kent, the hosts struggling to 156-8 in reply.
It was a maiden, and chanceless, century for the 21-year-old Welsh all-rounder as Glamorgan piled on the runs.
Left needing 400 to avoid the possibility of a follow-on, Kent lost half their side for just 23 to Timm van der Gugten and James Harris.
Chris Benjamin (68 not out) led a relative fightback but the hosts are still under the cosh at the halfway stage.
It was a remarkable turnaround of fortunes from the opening weeks of the season, when Kent won two out of three while Glamorgan lost two from three.
- Published31 January
Resuming on 389-7 with Kellaway on 91 and the battle for bonus points the other immediate concern, the Chepstow youngster was happy to take his time over reaching three figures, achieved with a stylish cover drive for three off Kashif Ali.
Partner Andy Gorvin was dropped behind on 14 off Kashif but put together a quietly efficient stand of 108 with Kellaway as Kent suffered in the sun, collecting just two bowling points to the visitors' four with the bat.
Gorvin eventually holed out to deep square off perspiring leg-spinner Matt Parkinson for a solid 47 off 99 balls.
Parkinson bowled James Harris for 12 as he looked to add quick runs after lunch, but Kellaway struck him for three successive sixes and a four in a spectacular burst of hitting before Sam Northeast called them in.
Kellaway faced 228 balls, striking 18 fours in addition to those maximums over mid-wicket, having hit a maiden first-class 50 only two matches ago.
Kent, under scoreboard pressure, then lost five wickets for just 23 inside 15 overs, after the returning Harris struck with his second ball of the season, having Harry Finch lbw before forcing Ben Compton to lob a catch to gully.
Van der Gugten had Kent captain Daniel Bell-Drummond, off the back of a double hundred, in all sorts of trouble before he edged to slip.
In a hostile nine-over spell, the Netherlands international then had Tawanda Muyeye and debutant Ekansh Singh caught at short-leg as both lobbed up catches, before Jack Leaning and Benjamin steadied the ship in a stand of 81.
Leaning had problems against Asitha Fernando, reaching 37 before the Sri Lankan won an lbw verdict, and Harris quickly forced Grant Stewart to play on.
Benjamin, the wicketkeeper recruited from Warwickshire, was lucky to survive a few moments against the seam of Zain Ul Hassan on his way to 50 off 83 balls.
Andy Gorvin had Matt Parkinson well caught behind off the inside edge for 13 though George Garrett survived the closing overs alongside Benjamin.
Kent coach Adam Hollioake told BBC Radio Kent:
"I'm disappointed because we probably didn't bowl at our best and we've given Glamorgan a bit of scoreboard pressure.
"It's definitely a new-ball wicket but we didn't bowl well with either of the two new balls we had, while they've got their length right.
"Chris Benjamin showed that if you dig in and show a bit of resilience then you can bat out there, so we have to try to minimise this deficit and take time out of the game."
Glamorgan's Ben Kellaway told BBC Sport Wales:
"I'm fatigued but delighted to kick on this morning after a solid start yesterday, and to get us into a solid position in the game, it's a really nice feeling.
"I wasn't trying to force anything (to get to a hundred) because that would have been my downfall, so it was nice to get over the line after 30 minutes.
"I had to take it step by then, Gorv and me got through the first half-hour and built from there, it was nice to get a few away after lunch and give us momentum, the short boundary was tempting.
"It was the right time for us to pull out and have a crack at them. The way Timm and James bowled upfront and the others have backed them up has been superb, we bowled accurately and got the rewards.
"It's pretty surreal, I'm delighted to have got the opportunity in the middle order, it's nice to have things coming together and it's really helped my confidence."