Rabada raring to go
KENT HAVE TO SETTLE FOR ANOTHER DRAW
Kent took over at the top of Specsavers County Championship Division 2 after seeing-out a dour draw against Derbyshire on Wednesday afternoon. A lifeless pitch and two injury-hit bowling attacks provided all the ingredients for a high-scoring draw in Canterbury. After Derbyshire’s mammoth first innings total of 574-9 declared had secured a 195-run first innings lead, Kent set out their stall to bat out the final three-and-a-half sessions of the match to secure their sixth draw. They comfortably achieved the stalemate thanks to half-centuries from Tom Latham (74) and Joe Denly (64) and a 47-ball 50 by Sam Northeast. The skipper finished unbeaten on 70 having passed 1,000 runs for the season on the final afternoon before drizzle ended the game prematurely at 4pm with Kent on 238-3, 74 ahead. It was thanks largely to Northeast that Kent’s deficit had not been South African pace bowler Kagiso Rabada hopes his time at Kent will make him a better player.
Rabada turned 21 last month and despite only bursting onto the scene 18 months ago, he already has six Test caps, 16 T20I and 20 ODI appearances, the last of which last Friday saw him take 3-31 as South Africa lost to the West Indies in Bridgetown.
Rabada came to prominence at the under-19 World Cup two years ago. He has already claimed his national record for First Class match figures (14105) and become the youngest South African to take 10 wickets greater, as he scored a careerbest 191 from 266 balls to guide his side from trouble at 166-6 to a closing total of 379, sharing a club-record stand against Derbyshire of 150 for the seventh wicket with Adam Ball, who made 66, three short of his First Class best. Wayne Madsen (163) and Shiv Thakor (123) reached three figures on a rain-affected third day and put on 144 for the sixth wicket as a Kent attack missing the injured Ivan Thomas, Calum Haggett and Matt Coles, unavailable for disciplinary reasons, toiled. Hamish Rutherford (65) and Chesney Hughes (85) also contributed to the 574-9dec total, although James Tredwell took 3-153 from his near 50-over turn and Matt Hunn, Darren Stevens and Mitch Claydon two scalps each. Kent claimed 10 points to move above Essex to the top of the Division 2 table ahead of their four-day trip to Chelmsford starting on Sunday. in a Test, as well as claiming 6-16 – including a hat-trick – on his ODI debut.
Despite that, he said: “I don’t feel under any pressure. I am just here to play cricket.
“Hopefully, I will leave a better player for the experience of playing in different conditions and on different surfaces. I am looking forward to getting started.”
Rabada was due to make his bow in the televised NatWest T20 Blast South Group against Sussex Sharks last night (Thursday) and said: “I have done a lot of travelling but I am ready to go and good to play if I’m in the team.”
Rabada arrived in Canterbury on Tuesday when Kent’s Championship clash with Derbyshire was brought to a premature close by heavy rain.
He admitted: “My initial impressions were that it was overcast and raining but I was expecting it. Players told me what it might be like. It’s cool, though, it’s not like I’ve never seen rain.
“The culture is different here. Back home, four-day games you’ll see at most 20 people in the stands, here you have 1,500 in the stands. People love their cricket here. Every player made me feel welcome. I know there are a lot of good players here, I have played against Sam Billings and he was in the IPL with some South Africans who told me he’s a good guy.
“I am the overseas pro and will try my best to help the team win games and hopefully do well.”
Rabada is set to feature in at least six T20s and two ODC games as well as the Championship clash with Sussex at Tunbridge Wells from July 17 before leaving to join up with South Africa before their home Test series against New Zealand in August.