County Championship: Nathan Lyon helps Lancashire take control against Kent

Nathan Lyon and George Balderson claimed three wickets apiece as Lancashire bowled out fellow strugglers Kent for 244 on the opening day of their County Championship clash at Canterbury.

Ben Compton (55) and Tawanda Muyeye (59) both made half-centuries for the hosts after being sent in to bat in the clash between Division One’s bottom two teams.

Lancashire reached 38-1 in their reply, trailing rock-bottom Kent by 206 runs, with Josh Bohannon (22no) and Luke Wells (14no) rallying after the loss of captain Keaton Jennings for a duck, bowled by Beyers Swanepoel.

Record-breaking England fast bowler James Anderson had made the trip south but was left out of the Lancashire squad and, perhaps unable to believe his luck at having been asked to bat against an Anderson-free attack, Compton plundered 11 from Tom Bailey’s opening over.

The scoring rate soon slowed, however, and the wickets began to tumble.

Marcus O’Riordan, having been dropped in the fourth over, was snared by Balderson for 16 and Bailey trapped Daniel Bell-Drummond lbw for four after switching to the Nackington Road end.

Joey Evison joined Compton and batted through to lunch, at which stage Kent were 102-2, but they then suffered a mini-collapse as Evison (25) edged Bailey before Balderson sent back Harry Finch and Compton in quick succession.

That left Kent on 124-5 and it nearly got worse as Muyeye was dropped on the mid-wicket boundary by Jack Blatherwick off Lyon.

Muyeye responded with his first half-century of the season and shared in an 82-run stand with Charlie Stobo, who made 36 before being bowled by Lyon.

Australia spinner Lyon also picked up the wickets of Swanepoel and George Garrett while Wells added the scalps of Matt Parkinson and Muyeye as Kent lost their final four wickets for 14 runs.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters’ Network