Kent v WI, 2nd warm-up: Match ends in a draw after rain interrupts the final day

The second warm-up game between Windies and Kent ended in a draw due to the rain interruption on the final day in Canterbury. The third day’s play started very late after the delay because of the rain. The Caribbean team came into bat trailing 66 runs, after the interruption. However, the lightning and the bad light forced umpires to call off the game before the scheduled end time.

It was an important game from the Windies team’s point of view, as they needed proper match practice for their players before the start of the crucial Test series. The rain delay cost the Caribbean batsmen an important batting practice. They will now take on Derbyshire in the 3rd and final warm-up match on Friday.

Match Story

West Indies captain Kraigg Brathwaite won the toss and opted to bat first in the 3-day practice match. The Caribbean batting-line up never looked settled throughout the first innings as they lost wickets at regular intervals. Only, middle-order batsman Jermaine Blackwood played a solid knock of 50 runs, as the team was bowled out for 265 runs. Kent’s right-arm fast bowler Charlie Hartley bowled well and claimed 4 wickets in the first innings.

In reply, Kent suffered a huge blow as they lost opener Daniel Bell-Drummond in the first over itself. But his fellow opener Sean Dickson and middle-order batsman Zak Crawley stitched together a partnership of 183 runs after the latter got dismissed at the score of 62 runs.

However, Dickson continued his fine innings despite wickets falling at the other end. He played an important knock of 142 runs to help his side manage a lead of 66 runs in the first innings. For Windies, fast bowler Alzarri Joseph picked up 4 wickets in the match.

The final day’s play started 80 minutes late due to the rain delay. The visitors lost their skipper early on the final day. The weather forecast for the rest of the day didn’t look peaceful for the Windies team. The umpires were forced to call off the game due to bad light. Before the call off, West Indies were 132-4, with a 66-runs lead. But the lightning forced the match to end in a draw.

The England team are scheduled to play Windies in a 3-match Test series, a T20 game followed by a 5-match ODI series, starting from August 17.

Brief Scores

1st Innings

Windies: 265 all out in 83.4 overs (Shai Hope 57, Jermaine Blackwood 50; Charlie Hartley 80/4)

Kent: 331/9 declared in 72.1 overs (Sean Dickson 142, Zak Crawley 62; Alzarri Joseph 4/72)

2nd innings

Windies: 132/4 in 36.4 overs (Shimron Hetmeyer 43*, Charlie Hartley 44/2)