July 13, 2013 – When Brendan Nash became the first player to be retired hurt on 199

A star-studded Kent team toured Cheltenham at the College Ground to face the home team Gloucestershire in the 2013 season. Kent, led by James Tredwell, were boosted by the likes of Vernon Philander, Brendan Nash and Rob Key in the playing XI. The College Ground pitch seemed to be quite a flat one as the home side piled on a big total after electing to bat first. They lost two wickets for 74 runs on the board during the first session before a huge 3rd wicket partnership.

Opener Chris Dent batted 353 minutes for his 153 that came off 270 deliveries. He shared a 268-run stand with Alex Gidman who kept finding boundaries regularly. Gidman was later involved in a 168-run partnership off 41.4 overs with Hamish Marshall as the Gloucestershire’s total crossed 500. Gidman’s innings was cut short by a runout but only after he smashed 211 with 25 fours and two sixes. Hamish got a century to his name as well before the hosts declared on 562/5 halfway through the 2nd day.

The Kent gave a solid response as they went to stumps on 2nd day with a score of 165/2 in 50 overs. Ben Harmison’s unbeaten 101 off 141 balls helped Kent add 224 runs to their overnight tally in just 50.3 overs. The visitors decided to declare the innings at the score of 389/5 despite being 173 runs behind. This made Gloucestershire come out and score some quick runs. By end of the day, the hosts reached 237/1 as skipper Michael Klinger smashed an unbeaten century in only 123 balls.

A thrilling final day:

Gloucestershire declared the innings at overnight total and set a target of 411 to Kent. The visitors lost a wicket on the very second ball of the chase but found some fight from Brendan Nash with small contributions from other players. The Australian born went on to represent West Indies in International Cricket but took a route to Kent in 2012 after cutting down ties with the WI Cricket Board. Nash, who walked to bat at No.4, was part of 50+ partnerships for the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th wickets.

Geraint Jones and Philander got out in the space of three overs as Kent were reduced to 332/7 and another 79 runs still to get. The time was not a factor for them but the wickets did matter. Nash was past his 150-run mark by then but the next best score in Kent’s innings was only 42. Nash then added 58 runs for the 8th wicket alongside the Kent skipper Tredwell as the victory was in sight for them.

Brendan Nash (retired ill) 199:

Kent were 390/7 in the 90th over of the chase out of which Brendan Nash alone scored 199. He smashed 26 fours and a six during his five-hour stay at the crease. On a sunny day in Cheltenham, Nash getting tried quickly after the marathon knock. Two balls into the 90th over, Nash had to retire when he was batting on 199 and his team needing only 21 more runs to win.

The left-hander had his issues in continuing as he couldn’t swing the bat properly and wasn’t able to focus on the things through his vision. Nash later told that he didn’t realize that he was only a run away from a double. Brendan said that he couldn’t look at the scoreboard to the end of his innings and only got to know about the runs required from Tredwell who was at the other end.

“It’s not something I’ve really ever experienced before. I was quite dizzy and had slight blurred vision. I couldn’t physically swing the bat that well so I didn’t know what use I would be out there anyway,” said Brendan Nash to BBC Kent after the match. “I didn’t look at the scoreboard for a while so I didn’t realize I was that close. I thought I was around 195 or 197,” he added.

Two balls after Nash walked way, James Tredwell was cleaned up by Craig Mills. However, the services of Nash were not needed further as the last pair of Calum Haggett and Charlie Shreck scored the remaining 21 runs in only 24 balls to seal a 2-wicket win for the Kent. This also meant Brendan Nash remained unbeaten on 199 and also became the first player in the history of first-class cricket to be retired ill/hurt at the score of 199.