Cricket: Kent Push Northants Towards Relegation

In spite of their stirring resistance on Sunday it would have required a miracle for Northamptonshire to score the world-beating 582 they needed to deny Kent, and it will now take another to save them from relegation.

Yesterday's chief executioner was the England Under-19 bowler Simon Cusden, who worked up a threatening pace in cool, misty conditions and logged career-best figures of four for 68 in urging Kent to victory. With six wickets in the game, Cusden trebled his tally in this season's championship.

It was also a day to remember for the 18-year-old wicketkeeper Richard Piesley. He had made an understandably nervous debut on Sunday, whistled up after Niall O'Brien had taken a ball in the face from Johann Louw. But yesterday he was more settled.

When Graeme Swann top-edged a pull off Rob Joseph, Piesley sprinted towards long-leg; a 20-yard dash, Olympic-standard dive, and for the first time he was warmly surrounded by back-slapping professionals.

A little later Louw snicked his first ball from Cusden and Piesley took off to his right for another dismissal he will never forget.

Suitably, the day's rearguard stubbornness came from the Northants captain David Sales, 43 not out overnight. In moving to a 77-ball half-century he also passed 1,000 runs for the championship season.

Support, however, was not forthcoming. Gerard Brophy perished offering no shot to Amjad Khan and, after Swann's brief resistance, Ben Phillips lost two stumps to a Cusden express delivery. When Steffan Jones fell in similar circumstances it was virtually game over. The last man, Paul Rofe, somehow clung on until Sales pulled Cusden to extra cover and Kent were home.