Zak Crawley scored an attacking 158 for Kent in the County Championship today (September 10), boosting their chances of avoiding relegation ahead of the final two rounds of competition.

Crawley got off to a flier at Canterbury against Nottinghamshire, hitting four consecutive fours in the third over of the day off the bowling of Brett Hutton, the second leading wicket-taker in Division One this year. Crawley went on to reach a half-century off 53 balls before Kent reached 109-1 by lunch. Crawley resumed on 79 at a run-a-ball and reached his century fewer than ten overs later.

His hundred came off exactly 100 balls with 15 fours and one six (hit off Lyndon James) and was Crawley’s second of the County Championship season. He marched on towards his 150, hitting two sixes off Calvin Harrison and putting on 153 runs for the second wicket with Daniel Bell-Drummond. He passed 150 off 146 balls, as Kent assumed a commanding position. However, Harrison got his revenge and dismissed him caught and bowled for 158 off 153 balls. It was Crawley’s third 150-plus first-class score of the 2023 summer.

Zak Crawley is going big in his first red-ball innings since the Ashes 💪

He’s passed 150 in Kent’s first innings against Nottinghamshire, including 18 fours and 3 sixes 💥#CountyCricket2023 pic.twitter.com/yDtacapu5F

— Wisden (@WisdenCricket) September 10, 2023

The knock meant Kent reached 248-2 and with Bell-Drummond also scoring a half-century, Kent are on course for a big first innings score – and one that will bring them batting points.

The result of the match is important for the relegation battle in Division One. Kent currently sit in ninth place in the table, locked in effectively a three-way battle for the bottom two spots. While Notts sit in seventh and are not technically safe, it’s unlikely they’ll slip far enough for two of the bottom three sides to overtake them.

Northamptonshire are bottom of the table on 61 points and are likely to finish in the same position, making the race for the second relegation spot effectively between Middlesex and Kent. With Middlesex slipping to 132-8 against Lancashire, a good first day leading to a win would give Kent the edge over their rivals ahead of the final two rounds.

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