LONDON, England, CMC – Out-of-favour West Indies left-hander Brendan Nash opened his English County Championship campaign in style with a stylish half-century for Kent on Thursday.
Nash, who scored heavily for Jamaica during the West Indies Four-Day Championship this year, hit 67 as Kent piled up 537 for nine declared after opting to bat first at Headingley against Yorkshire.
Nash faced 98 balls in 115 minutes at the crease and struck nine fours, posting 71 for the fourth wicket with Mike Powell (37).
Earlier, openers Robert Key (97) and Scott Newman (64) put on 141 for the first wicket
Resuming the second day on Friday on 345 for five, Kent got an unbeaten 103 from lower order batsman Mat Coles to take control of the game.
Yorkshire finished the day on 32 without loss.
At Grace Road, another West Indies batsman Ramnaresh Sarwan had mixed fortunes on debut for Leicestershire.
He hammered 41 with six fours off 110 balls as the hosts, sent in by Glamorgan, were dismissed for 249 on Thursday’s opening day.
Leicestershire had a nightmare start, slipping to one run for three wickets before Sarwan steadied the innings, adding 46 for the fifth wicket with Ned Eckersley (25) and 53 for the sixth wicket with Wayne White (37).
Glamorgan ended the opening day on 25 for five before being eventually being dismissed for 124 on Friday.
In their second turn at the crease, Leicestershire were bundled out for 110 with Sarwan going for one.
Chasing 236 for victory, Glamorgan ended the day on 24 for one.
At the Oval, Barbadian seamer Chris Jordan claimed three for 29 for Surrey on Friday’s second day as the hosts took control of their clash with Sussex.
The visitors were dismissed for 196 after resuming the second day on 105 for five, in response to Surrey’s 264, where Jordan scored seven at the top of the order.
Batting again, Surrey closed the day on 250 for eight, with Rory Hamilton-Brown getting 89.
Jordan, who played four matches for Barbados in the recent regional first class championship, scored 20 in the opening spot.
