April 19-22, The Spitfire Ground, Canterbury
Kent 244 (Bell-Drummond 70, Garrett 48, Lawes 3-53, Steel 3-34) Surrey 185-1 (Sibley 87*, Burns 69, Garrett 1-44, Evison 0-14, Leaning 0-10)
Toss: Surrey, who elected to field. Officials: Mike Burns, Ben Debenham, Dean Cosker
DAY ONE
DANIEL BELL-DRUM-MOND hit an elegant 70 as Kent reached 113 for three on a rain-interrupted day one.
The in-form Kent skipper put on a stand of exactly 100 for the third wicket with Jack Leaning, after rain wiped out all but 11 balls of the first two sessions at the Spitfire Ground.
Dan Worrall took two for 33 to reduce Kent to eight for two in the sixth over, but Surrey went 30 overs without a wicket before Tom Lawes broke the partnership when he had Bell-Drummond lbw shortly before the close.
The Kent and England legend Derek Underwood, who passed away on Monday aged 78, was honoured before the start of play, with both sets of players standing in front of the Underwood & Knott stand for a minute’s silence. Black armbands were worn and a moment was also taken to remember Raman Subba Row of Surrey, who died on Wednesday at the age of 92.
It was a bitterly cold day for the die-hards at the St. Lawrence and the weather wiped out 57 overs before conditions finally improved, or at least got less damp, late in the afternoon.
The visitors, who had do without Jamie Overton due to a back injury, won the toss and chose to bowl, but the start had already been delayed until 1.25pm and they managed just 11 deliveries before bad light forced them off again, the wind at that point being too strong for the floodlights to be used.
When play eventually resumed at 4.15pm, Zak Crawley’s first Kent appearance of the season saw him make just five before Worrall had him caught by Jamie Smith at third slip and in his next over he trapped Ben Compton lbw for three.
The partnership Kent urgently needed came when Jack Leaning joined Bell-Drummond and they batted the home side into calmer waters.
Bell-Drummond, who already has two centuries this season, fell in the third last over of the day when he was trapped leg before by Lawes.
DAY TWO
After that rain-truncated first day, both teams approached Day Two knowing that something special would
