LV COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Canterbury:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY THREE: Kent 424 & 162, Durham 418 & 67-3
Kent 8 pts, Durham 8 pts
Match scorecard

Spinner Ian Blackwell has now taken 301 first-class wickets in his career

Ian Blackwell's middle-order burst has given champions Durham a chance to wrap up only their second four-day win of the season against Kent at Canterbury.

Blackwell took 3-35 as Kent tumbled badly from 71-3 to 137-9 before eventually being bowled out for 162.

Steve Harmison, Chris Rushworth and Scott Borthwick all took three wickets.

After Ben Stokes extended his career-best to 161 at the start of the day to help his side reach 418, Durham closed on 67-3, needing 102 more to win.

The Canterbury pitch showed signs of uneven bounce as 17 wickets fell on a third day of fluctuating fortunes.

Durham lost their last four first-innings wickets for 77, but not before Stokes added 39 to his overnight score.

Kent's Makhaya Ntini finished with 5-84 and Amjad Khan 3-81.

Durham then dismissed the hosts for 162, only Martin van Jaarsveld (44) staying at the crease for longer than an hour.

Kent lost their way in the match by losing six wickets for 114 in the mid-session, having worked hard to muster a first-innings lead of six.

Openers Rob Key (20) and Joe Denly (14) failed to get the home side off to a good start in their second innings.

Then, after Geraint Jones had gone too, Blackwell removed Sam Northeast, Azhar Mahmood and Alex Blake to leave Kent in all sorts of trouble, from which they never recovered.

It left Durham 18 overs, plus the entire final day, to make 169 for only their second Championship victory of the season.

Kent captain Rob Key told BBC Radio Kent:
"We probably didn't bat anywhere near as well as we should have done. The wicket is starting to go a little bit up and down and spinning a bit but we didn't cover ourselves in glory with the bat.

"Ultimately Rob Ferley and the seamers are going to have to do it. There's enough going on there with the turning ball and there's enough up and down for us to force a result. We need two quick wickets early and then we're into a bit of the tail.

"It's going to be an interesting game. I do think no heavy roller makes for much more exciting cricket which is a good thing."

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