In the County Championship, which is still going on, Surrey beat Kent so badly on June 14 that it set a new record. Only twice in the history of the County Championship has a team successfully set out to reach a goal of more than 500. Overall, it was the eighth-most successful run chase in the history of first-class cricket. In doing so, Kent hit the second-highest goal ever, and it was only by a hair’s breadth that Middlesex County set the highest record.
In 1925, they made 502 runs, while Kent only had 501 runs at the end of their run chase. On the second-to-last day of the game at Canterbury, the team was able to chase down the huge target with five wickets left. Dom Sibley (140 off 415 balls), Ben Foakes (124 off 211 balls), and Jamie Smith (114 off 77 balls) all had excellent centuries.
Notably, Surrey was bowled out with only 145 runs after getting 301 runs in the first inning of the game. After scoring 344 runs, Kent set a new record of 501 runs. On the other hand, Smith’s quick hundred gave his team a good start, and Surrey only needed 238 runs on the last day to win. Arshdeep Singh, an Indian fast bowler with a left arm, played his first game for Kent and took two wickets in each match.
Surrey moved up to fifth place in the standings for the County Championship.
Dom Sibley and Ben Foakes fought hard and carefully to keep Surrey from falling behind, but they would have liked to score more quickly to win the game. Still, because of the win, Surrey moved up to fifth place in the County Championship standings, while Kent stayed in fourth place.
Now, Surrey’s next game will be on June 25 against Lancashire, and Kent’s next game will be against Northamptonshire on the same day. Both games are in Division One of the County Championship.
India
