Zak Crawley scores 238 as Kent fight back at Somerset

England opener Zak Crawley returned to form with a superb double century to lead a stirring Kent fightback on the third day of the County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.

There were three wickets each for Craig Overton and Migael Pretorius as the visitors were bowled out for 178 in their first innings from an overnight 108-5 and followed on 376 runs behind.

But it was a different story in the second innings as Crawley and Ben Compton (65) put together an opening stand of 194 in 42 overs.

Crawley, who had mustered only 67 runs in seven previous Championship innings this season, fell shortly before the close for 238, having faced 267 balls and hit 31 fours and four sixes.

At 409-5, Kent’s lead at stumps was only 33, but they had given themselves a fighting chance of salvaging an unlikely draw on day four.

It took Somerset just an hour and 10 minutes to claim the five remaining Kent first-innings wickets.

Joey Evison was bowled for 11 aiming to drive Pretorius, Beyers Swanepoel edged to first slip and Grant Stewart played back to Pretorius, falling lbw for a single.

Somerset wicketkeeper James Rew then dove low to hold an inside edge from Joe Denly off Overton and when Lewis Gregory bowled Nathan Gilchrist for a duck it was all over.

Crawley reached three figures with a pulled four off the left-arm seam of Tom Lammonby, his 18th boundary of a majestic innings before the breakthrough came when Matt Renshaw earned an lbw verdict against Compton with a delivery slanted into his pads.

By the time Crawley lofted an Andy Umeed leg-break over the long-on rope to reach 200, he had faced 242 balls and extended his boundary count to 29 fours and two sixes and Daniel Bell-Drummond was equally unruffled in moving to a 90-ball half-century.

Jack Leach removed Bell-Drummond and Marcus O’Riordan, both lbw pushing forward before Crawley was caught behind off Pretorius and Gilchrist was bowled by the same bowler off what proved the final ball of the day.