Kent wrap up eight-wicket win against Middlesex

Ben Compton and Tawanda Muyeye shared an unbroken stand of 225 for Kent

Rothesay County Championship Division Two, Spitfire Ground, Canterbury (day three)

Middlesex 222 & 311: Geddes 75; Stewart 3-52

Kent 218 & 316-2: Muyeye 125*, Compton 124*

Kent (19 pts) beat Middlesex (3 pts) by eight wickets

Match scorecard

Tawanda Muyeye and Ben Compton both hit centuries as Kent coasted to an eight-wicket run win over Middlesex in the Rothesay County Championship at Canterbury.

Muyeye made a fluent unbeaten 125 and Compton a stylish 124 not out in a record-breaking partnership worth 225, after England's Zak Crawley showed a glimpse of form with 58, having being dropped on nought.

Earlier Middlesex were all out for 311, setting Kent what looked like a stiff target of 316 to win.

Ben Geddes made 75 and Zafar Gohar contributed 57 down the order, but Gohar was the only visiting bowler to enjoy any success, claiming two wickets in two balls to reduce Kent to 91-2.

That, however, was as good as it got for the visitors and Compton hit the winning single with 5.4 overs of day three remaining.

Middlesex began the day in a strong position on 222-6 and with a 226-run lead in the bank, but they lost Geddes early when he pulled Jack Leaning to the backward square leg boundary and was caught by a tumbling Joey Evison, having added just two to his overnight score.

Blake Cullen made a useful 22 and saw off eight overs of the new ball before he edged Grant Stewart to Daniel Bell-Drummond at first slip.

Stewart then got Toby Roland-Jones lbw for a fifth-ball duck but the last wicket duo of Zafar Gohar and Henry Brookes milked the bowlers for 39 runs.

Gohar pulled Gilchrist for a huge six to take the lead past 300 and only perished when he cut the same bowler to Jas Singh on the backward point boundary.

There was an eerie silence when Crawley, on nought in the first over, edged Roland-Jones to Geddes, who dropped him at third slip. He then drove Roland-Jones for successive fours, edged one through gully, clipped a six over mid-wicket and looked largely unmolested on his way to the fifty he reached by sweeping Gohar to third man for four.

Gohar, however, undid him in his next over, with a ball that pitched near middle and spun back to hit his off stump. Bell-Drummond went to the very next ball, bowled by a delivery that pitched outside and hit off.

Yet Muyeye blocked the hat-trick ball and at tea Kent looked favourites on 164-2.

A pitch that looked so demonic on day one seemed to have been exorcised. Gohar switched ends and switched back again. Muyeye creamed Brookes for a six over square leg that ended up in the car park and drove Gafar through mid off to reach his hundred.

Bowling at Compton's head proved futile and he cut Gohar through point for four to reach three figures, by which stage Middlesex seemed drained of hope.

Muyeye seemed in a hurry to get it done in three days, dumping Gohar into the upper deck of the Cowdrey stand for a huge six.

It was the highest ever third-wicket partnership for Kent v Middlesex, eclipsing the 196 made by both Bob Wilson and Colin Cowdrey in 1954 and David Fulton and Matt Walker in 2004.

Compton staked his claim for a place in Kent's Blast side by hitting the same bowler for a maximum over long on, for only the sixth six of his career and he had the honour of hitting the winning run when he nudged Nathan Fernandes through mid-off.

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