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Paul Collingwood has been told to go away and clear his mind before he regains his place in the one-day side, after being dropped for the opening match against Australia

Brydon Coverdale in Melbourne16-Jan-2011Paul Collingwood has been told to go away and clear his mind before he regains his place in England’s one-day side, after being dropped for the opening match against Australia in Melbourne. Collingwood has been a fixture of the ODI outfit for nearly a decade and has played at two World Cups, but despite being axed he appears almost certain to add a third to his resume, according to the captain Andrew Strauss.”It is a bit of a form thing,” Strauss said. “We feel that he’s been struggling with the bat for a while now. The best way for him to come back is to spend a bit of time out of the side and refresh his mind. He’s obviously a very important part of our one-day setup and will be going forward to the World Cup, but he’s not in great nick at the moment. It’s tough on him but it would have been tough on someone else to be left out as well.”Collingwood, 34, has retired from Test cricket, ending with a miserable series personally, as he made 83 runs in the five Tests at 13.83, but still an enormously satisfying one as his team won the Ashes away from home. He remains England’s Twenty20 captain but in the 50-over format, he faces a fight to win back his place, and it seems unlikely he’ll be in the mix until much later in the series.”It’s a seven-match series, so there are a lot of [selection] permutations,” Strauss said. “We’d like him to spend the next week or so just clearing his mind, and obviously doing some work in the nets, but primarily getting his mind clear and making sure he’s very clear on how he wants to play his game.”He’s not going to change his game, he’s going to play the same way. But sometimes you need a clear mind, and you don’t want to be thinking too much about the dismissals you’ve had recently, you just want to be able to go out and see the ball and hit the ball.”The form of Kevin Pietersen could make it even tougher for Collingwood to force his way back in, although it also provides him with some inspiration. Pietersen was dropped during the one-day series against Pakistan in September but in his first match back, proved he has plenty to offer the side, in compiling a classy 78 from 75 balls in the six-wicket loss at the MCG.”He showed his quality today,” Strauss said. “He’s able to clear the boundary, kept putting pressure on the opposition bowlers. He’s had a bit of a fallow period in one-day cricket but he showed his class today.”Pietersen’s efforts were not enough against an Australian side carried by a herculean 161 from Shane Watson, and it’s the second consecutive win for the hosts after they triumphed in the second Twenty20 in Melbourne on Friday. But there is plenty of time remaining for England to turn things around.”They’re one-nil up in the series now,” Strauss said, “but we’re still very confident that we can win this series.”

Jack Russell, England’s wicketkeeper at the 1996 World Cup, believes that Matt Prior’s aggression, maturity and vocal presence behind the stumps make him the right man for the job

Andrew Miller01-Feb-2011Jack Russell, England’s wicketkeeper at the 1996 World Cup, believes that Matt Prior’s aggression, maturity and vocal presence behind the stumps make him the right man for the job as the team prepares to return to the subcontinent for another tilt at a trophy that has eluded them for nine tournaments and 36 years.Prior had not been part of England’s limited-overs setup since the tour of Bangladesh in February 2010 when he was last month named as the surprise inclusion in England’s World Cup 15, at the expense of the Surrey wicketkeeper, Steven Davies.He overcame the embarrassment of back-to-back ducks in his first two matches of the one-day series in Australia to produce a hard-hitting 67 from 58 balls in their 21-run win in the fourth game at Adelaide, and he is expected to open the batting alongside Andrew Strauss when England’s World Cup campaign gets underway in Nagpur on February 22.Russell, who spent much of his own England career vying for the wicketkeeping duties with Alec Stewart, believed that Prior’s time away from the team and his determination to reclaim the role would stand him in good stead for the tough campaign that awaits.”I think the period out of the one-day side probably helped him, and it got his appetite back,” Russell told ESPNcricinfo’s Switch Hit podcast. “It made him realise it’s not a given that he’s in this team, so he went away and worked hard, and he’s a very fine all-round cricketer now. He’s an aggressive character who takes the game to the opposition, he’s got that freedom mentally, and the belief that he can go out there and do his stuff with bat and gloves.”While Russell sympathised with Davies, who had seemed a shoo-in for the World Cup after performing competently throughout the one-day series in England last September as well as the first ODI against Australia in Melbourne, he believed that, at the age of 24, the younger man still had plenty to learn at the highest level – particularly when it comes to the cajoling in the field that is the duty of the man with the gloves.”From a wicketkeeping point of view Prior is more of a driver, a leader in the field than the lad Davies, who’s a little bit younger, and is still searching for his game if you like,” said Russell. “Davies hasn’t quite crossed those mental bridges yet, which allow him to feel he is running the show in the field. He is more quiet, whereas Matt will be in your face a bit more, and drive and push things forward, and you need guys like that when you’re playing at that level, especially in a place like India.”Russell’s own career was notable for his vocals behind the stumps, not least during his final years with Gloucestershire in the early 2000s, when he and Mark Alleyne were the heart and soul of their trophy-hoarding one-day side. “It was the last third of my career when I really worked out my game,” he said. “I’d done my apprenticeship, and Matt’s in that situation now. It’s his job now to start pushing and shoving everyone else.”Prior produced a near-faultless performance in the Tests against Australia, in which he claimed 23 catches and rounded off the series with his maiden Ashes hundred. “You are running the show in the field, so it’s hard to kick other people’s backsides if you’re not doing the job properly yourself,” said Russell. “The bottom line is you never lose sight of the fact that you’ve got to catch every ball, and if you do that you can start bawling and shouting at everyone else.”At the minute young Davies is still finding his feet at international level, but he needs to go up another gear in terms of adding a bit more aggression to his game with the bat and the gloves.”Fifteen years have now elapsed since the last World Cup in the subcontinent, and as was the case in 1996, England go into the tournament on the back of an arduous winter campaign, rounded off by a heavy and humbling one-day series defeat. Russell, however, believes the current squad will be strong enough to shrug off the indignity of their ODI setback, in the manner that he and his team-mates were unable to do when they were crushed 6-1 by South Africa all those years ago.”I think this team could well be a stronger group mentally to deal with the fact we’ve lost the one-day series,” said Russell. “Playing in Asia [compared to Australia] is like playing on another planet, so if you make a good start you can draw a line under what’s gone on before and take it as a fresh start. I’m pretty sure there’s enough mental strength in that group and the back-up staff will make sure the attitude is spot-on. I’d like to think there’s no reason why we can’t win the World Cup.”Jack Russell is compiling a book of paintings of English county grounds, due for publication by 2012

A round-up of the action from the first two quarter-finals of the 2010-11 Vijay Hazare Trophy

ESPNcricinfo staff23-Feb-2011Rahul Dewan’s century led Haryana to a 95-run victory over Uttar Pradesh in their quarter-final at the Holkar Cricket Stadium in Indore. Haryana elected to bat and Dewan and lost his opening partner Sandeep Singh early, but Sunny Singh gave him company in a 101-run partnership, and then Nitin Saini got a quick 56 not out, as Haryana reached 286. Dewan batted till the 46th over and scored 114. UP’s reply got off to a shaky start as they slumped to 18 for 2. Rohit Srivastava tried to consolidate and scored 38, but the innings never got going. Wickets fell at regular intervals in the middle overs and then Amit Mishra wiped out the tail to finish with figures of 4 for 29.Kumar Deobrat took Jharkhand to victory against Mumbai in a closely fought match at the Emerald High School Ground in Indore, securing a semi-final berth for his team. Deobrat’s unbeaten 66 helped Jharkhand recover from 115 for 6 in chase of Mumbai’s 213. He put together a 74-run partnership with Shahbaz Nadeem, and did not panic once Nadeem was out for 46, completing the job for a three-wicket win. Mumbai captain Wasim Jaffer chose to bat and justified that decision by scoring 102 off 106 balls. But there was little contribution from anyone else and Mumbai ended up being bowled out in 44. 5 overs. The modest total proved to be challenging though as two wickets apiece from Abhishek Nayar and Rohit Sharma put Jharkhand in trouble. Deobrat came to their rescue, and consigned Mumbai to defeat. It has been a disappointing season for Mumbai who also exited the Ranji Trophy at the quarter-final stage.

Adam Gilchrist, the Kings XI Punjab captain, has described his team’s seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Pune Warriors, making their first IPL appearance, as a “poor all-round performance”

ESPNcricinfo staff10-Apr-2011Adam Gilchrist, the Kings XI Punjab captain, has described his team’s seven-wicket defeat at the hands of Pune Warriors, making their first IPL appearance, as a “poor all-round performance.” Gilchrist fell in the first over of the day, after opting to bat, and if not for Ryan McLaren’s fighting half-century, Punjab would have struggled to even reach triple-figures.”It was a poor all-round performance. It started with me in the first over and that set the tone for the innings,” Gilchrist said. Punjab didn’t help themselves, dropping a couple of easy catches in Pune’s chase. Both Yuvraj Singh and Robin Uthappa, batsmen who took Pune home with some big hits, got a reprieve. “A couple of catches could have been taken and that would have left them at five for 70 odd. We just weren’t good enough today,” Gilchrist said.Punjab, like several other teams, underwent a revamp after the IPL auctions and Gilchrist said it would take a little time for the team to settle down. “We felt comfortable enough coming in to this game, but we need to take little steps [towards improving]. We will go back and work on it, it’s a long tournament and the only way is up.”McLaren was outstanding, the bowlers did create some chances, picked up wickets and there were several players who hadn’t played the IPL before so to be just involved in the experience, that is a positive in itself.”Yuvraj, meanwhile, said he enjoyed captaining Pune to a maiden win and claimed captaincy appeared a tougher job when he led Punjab. “The first two years that I captained Kings XI Punjab, I took a lot of pressure on myself and was getting distracted a lot in the field. This time I just thought I’ll be calm and relaxed and that worked for me.”It was a good toss to lose, we bowled wicket to wicket, back of a length and got the results.”

Former ICC chief Malcolm Speed says the Associate nations’ lock-out for the 2015 World Cup is “insular and backward-looking”

Daniel Brettig06-Apr-2011The ICC’s decision to stage the 2015 World Cup without any provision for Associate members smacks of “insular, backward-looking” attitudes among the game’s custodians, former chief Malcolm Speed has said.The scaling down of the tournament to a 10-team event in 2015, in Australia and New Zealand, without so much as a qualifying tournament for smaller nations, has been met with plenty of opposition. The saddest element of the decision, said Speed, was simply that it reflected a persistent retreat from global gains made earlier in the 21st century.”I don’t have a problem with the 10-team World Cup. I think other formats have been tried and haven’t worked, but I do have a problem with the 10 teams qualifying automatically,” Speed told . “I would’ve preferred a system where the last two full-member countries in the one-day rankings are challenged by the top two Associate members, but it seems that’s not going to happen.”It’s consistent with the thinking I saw at the executive board towards the end of my tenure, but certainly not with the thinking earlier in my time, when there was a much broader view of the future of world cricket.”Self-interest is a powerful force at any meeting of nations, as Speed discovered to his detriment when his time as CEO was terminated in 2008. While making it clear there were useful voices at work on the ICC executive, Speed said that they did not, in this instance, speak loudest. “The decision strikes me as an insular, parochial decision that just perpetuates the 10 full-member countries, who are actually full members because they are Test-playing countries.”They’re not full members because they’re ODI-playing countries, they are chosen because they can sustain Test cricket. But other countries are then excluded from the major one-day tournament, so I think it’s a very insular, backward-looking decision.”Speed has just published his memoirs, , in which he discusses the politics of World Cups and the mixed blessing of India’s dominant position as the unrivalled financial leviathan of the game. “It’s the major operational benefit for the game, but it’s also the major governance threat,” he said of India’s power. “It’s the sort of opportunity any other sport would gladly welcome, as has cricket, but it brings with it some serious difficulties.”

West Indies captain Darren Sammy struck a confident note ahead of the first Test against Pakistan and said that his team would look carry the winning momentum from the last two games of the ODI series against the visitors into the first Test

ESPNcricinfo staff12-May-2011West Indies captain Darren Sammy struck a confident note ahead of the first Test against Pakistan and said that his team would look carry the winning momentum from the last two games of the ODI series against the visitors into the first Test.”We fought back really well to win the last two matches in the one-day format and we will take that momentum and belief into the Test matches,” Sammy said. “Test cricket is a different form of cricket, so we know we have to make the adjustment.”We will have more time, so we will look to be patient as we execute. It’s about occupying the crease and putting good totals on the board when we bat. When we bowl, it’s about being patient and trying to get the ball in the right areas and building the pressure on the Pakistanis.”Pakistan won the first three matches of the five-match ODI series to seal the series, but West Indies came back to win a rain-marred fourth ODI and then sealed a comprehensive 10-wicket win in the final game.”We believe we can win the series,” Sammy said. “We believe this because we have worked hard in the build-up to the series and we know we have the ability to perform on home turf and get the better of Pakistan. We saw an improved batting performance in the last two matches of the one-day series and everyone in the team is feeling confident and fully prepared.”We hope all the hard work we have been doing in the nets and the two-day warm-up match a few days ago, will be transferred into the middle. The way our bowling has been coming along in the last six months in one-day cricket and on the tour of Sri Lanka – we know we are capable of getting 20 wickets.”West Indies’ bowling will be strengthened by the return of fast bowler Fidel Edwards, who hasn’t played for his country in two years due to a serious back injury. Legspinner Devendra Bishoo, who was the leading wicket-taker in the five-match ODI series, with 11 wickets, is in line to make his Test debut.West Indies struggled with their batting in the first three games of the ODI series, but the inclusion of the experienced Shivnarine Chaderpaul and the form shown by Lendl Simmons and Darren Bravo in the ODI series, could provide them with the much-needed stability.”I have strong confidence that whatever 11 is selected will go out and do the job for West Indies,” Sammy said. “The Test match pitch looks similar to the one we played on in the one-day match here, so I have faith our attack will deliver against what is a good Pakistan team.”

Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said that there were “solid reasons” for the removal of Shahid Afridi as ODI captain but that he will reveal those reasons at a later date

ESPNcricinfo staff27-May-2011Ijaz Butt, the PCB chairman, has said that there were “solid reasons” for the removal of Shahid Afridi as ODI captain but that he will reveal those reasons at a later date.Afridi was replaced by Misbah-ul-Haq last week, after leading Pakistan in back-to-back ODI series against New Zealand and West Indies, and to a last-four finish in the World Cup. The board has not given an official reason for the removal, though it is believed to be the result of growing differences Afridi had with coach Waqar Younis, in particular over matters of selection.On his return from the Caribbean, Afridi referred to the situation with Waqar, saying, “Although the differences in team management are not such which could not be solved, I feel everyone should do his job and need not interfere in other’s work”. That led to the board issuing him a showcause notice to explain his remarks, and presumably formed part of the reasons for his removal. Subsequently Afridi decided to pull out of the two ODIs against Ireland; speculation has been that he is unhappy over his removal but he has said it is because his father is unwell.Removing Afridi meant that Butt has now presided over nine changes in the Test and ODI captaincy during his tenure as chairman, a period of less than three years. But Butt insisted in an interview with the leading Urdu daily Jang that he was justified in making the change.”We had very solid reasons to remove Afridi and I will reveal them when the time is right,” Butt said. “We haven’t taken this action without any reasons.”Butt did indicate that there had been a breach of discipline on Afridi’s part, though it is not yet clear whether he was referring to the comments Afridi made on his return, or to separate incidents on tour. Tensions between Waqar and Afridi are reported to have risen considerably in some team selection meetings, with Intikhab Alam, the team manager, having to play peace broker.The on-tour management’s report has been handed in to the board, according to Butt, and details will emerge after the team returns from Ireland, when the board will also deal with the issue of Afridi’s showcause notice. “We know Afridi won two series and that is why we didn’t act then [during the tour]. We couldn’t do anything more during that tour. Right now anything more I say will cause more tensions. Everything will come to light soon.”Meanwhile, Waqar refused to speculate on Afridi’s future role within the side. “I have got no idea about that,” Waqar said. “It is the board’s decision what they want to do about the captaincy. My job is to look after the team and to deliver the goods.”Waqar also denied reports he had fallen out with Afridi. “It was the papers that made all this,” he said. “There is nothing in it.”

West Indies have dropped their vice-captain Brendan Nash and have recalled Kirk Edwards for the second Test, which begins on June 28 in Barbados

Sriram Veera25-Jun-2011West Indies have dropped their vice-captain Brendan Nash and recalled Kirk Edwards for the second Test against India, which begins on June 28 in Barbados. Marlon Samuels, who missed the first Test in Jamaica, is likely to play in the middle order instead of Nash.Nash came into the Test side without match practice and made 1 and 9 at Sabina Park, where West Indies lost by 63 runs. He has scored only 53 runs in his previous six innings and been dismissed in single digits five times.”It is clear that Brendan has been struggling for form for some time and we want to give him a chance to take some time away from international cricket and work on his game,” Clyde Butts, the chairman of selectors, said. “Brendan is a mentally tough cricketer and we are sure that he will be able to overcome the challenges he is now facing and come back strong.”Ian Bishop, the former West Indies fast bowler and commentator, told ESPNcricinfo he wasn’t surprised by the axing, though he thought Nash might have got one more chance.”It’s difficult for Brendan. It’s been a like that for a while now. Nash doesn’t play the ODIs and doesn’t get much cricket in between,” Bishop said. “I know he is a hard worker, very professional and will definitely go to the nets and work on his game. I suspect it will be Samuels who will play and not Edwards. Samuels has shown that he can make a contribution to this team. There might be also an option of playing five bowlers on that Barbados track. Time will tell.”In the absence of Chris Gayle, and now with the exit of Nash, the responsibility on Shivnarine Chanderpaul and Ramnaresh Sarwan increases. “Shiv has the ability … I won’t say he was careless in getting out in the Test match. One bounced on him and one hit a crack. He will go back and work hard and will lead this West Indies batting line-up. He is the one guy who can play the Dravid-type innings.”Good teams have a senior core, who set a trend. Chanderpaul and Sarwan have to set that trend, particularly Sarwan. He is still relatively a young player and at the prime of his career.”MS Dhoni, the Indian captain, didn’t want to comment on the continuing absence of Gayle. “I think that’s a situation for the selectors to decide who they can pick for their team,” he said. “I won’t say this West Indian side is a weaker side. If you look at the talent they have in their top six or seven batsmen, then they are equally matched with the current Indian team you know, who all are over here”.West Indies squad : Adrian Barath, Lendl Simmons, Darren Bravo, Ramnaresh Sarwan, Shivnarine Chanderpaul, Marlon Samuels, Carlton Baugh (wk), Darren Sammy (capt), Fidel Edwards, Ravi Rampaul, Devendra Bishoo, Kemar Roach, Kirk Edwards.

India’s seam bowlers dominated for two sessions, reducing England to 124 for 8, before a stirring counterattack from Stuart Broad propped the home side to 221

The Report by George Binoy29-Jul-2011
Scorecard and ball-by-ball detailsSreesanth celebrates one of his three wickets, that of Matt Prior•AFP

For the first two sessions of an overcast day in Nottingham, India’s fast bowlers dominated England’s batsmen with swing and seam movement to have them on 124 for 8. The end of England’s innings, however, came later than India wanted it to. Stuart Broad led a stirring counterattack after tea, and confronted by his aggression, India went to pieces. Their bowlers lost their successful lines and lengths, MS Dhoni deployed defensive fields, and the lethargic fielders were exploited. Broad and Graeme Swann had a 73-run partnership for the ninth wicket at 6.25 per over, which propped England up to 221.The injection of adrenaline Broad had given England was continued by James Anderson, who struck with the first delivery of the Indian innings. Abhinav Mukund, having seen the ball jag around for nearly 69 overs, played a push-drive to one that swung away and watched Kevin Pietersen catch the outside edge at gully. It was left to Rahul Dravid and VVS Laxman, opening and batting at No. 3 because of Gautam Gambhir’s absence, to show how it’s done. They played late and with soft hands. Their bats were beaten and their bodies hit. They survived appeals and a review but, with a little luck, ensured India’s advantage was not entirely lost. Broad bowled a menacing spell – 7-3-5-0 – but India ended the day with nine wickets intact, trailing by 197 runs.On the day, India did not suffer from Zaheer Khan’s unavailability as much as many thought they would. Zaheer’s replacement, Sreesanth, bowled spells of perfectly pitched outswing, and he forged a formidable alliance with Praveen Kumar and Ishant Sharma, reducing England from 73 for 2 to 124 for 8.England had been satisfactorily placed at lunch after MS Dhoni put them in. They had lost their marathon men – Alastair Cook and Jonathan Trott – early but Andrew Strauss and Kevin Pietersen, batting together in a Test for the first time since Perth in December, survived a testing second hour. Cook was lbw to Ishant an over after he survived a close shout against Praveen. Replays of the not-out decision indicated the ball would have hit the stumps, though a fraction of it pitched outside leg, while those of the out decision indicated it would have bounced over.There was more lbw drama. Praveen hit Pietersen below the knee roll and appealed vociferously. Despite Pietersen’s giant stride forward, replays indicated the bails would have fallen. Praveen argued with umpire Marais Erasmus and had to be ushered away by Harbhajan Singh.

Smart Stats

• England’s 221 is their third-lowest total in the first innings at Trent Bridge since 1990. Of the 11 times they have batted first, they have scored less than 300 only thrice.

• Stuart Broad’s 64 is his eighth half-century in Tests and the second of the series. He has now scored 1291 runs at an average of 28.68.

• The 73-run stand between Broad and Graeme Swann is England’s fourth-highest for the ninth wicket in Tests against India. The highest is 102 between Matthew Hoggard and Craig White in 2002.

• Alastair Cook averages 15.37 in eight innings at Trent Bridge – it’s his lowest at a ground where he has played more than one Test.

• Sreesanth has taken 59 Test wickets against right-handers, at an average of 29.28. Against left-handers, he’s taken 23 wickets at 43.52.

• The Indian fast bowlers picked up 9 for 188 in the England innings, which is the 11th occasion since 2000 that they’ve picked up nine or more wickets in an innings.

• Abhinav Mukund’s first-ball duck was his second in Tests and the 16th such instance for an Indian opener. Sunil Gavaskar has suffered the fate five times.

It was between Cook’s dismissal and the Pietersen appeal that Sreesanth made his entrance. Sreesanth doesn’t enjoy bowling to left-handers – Strauss clipped his first ball for four – as much as he does to right-handers, and as soon as he had Jonathan Trott on strike, he found the edge to slip with an outswinger. England were 23 for 2 and Strauss and Pietersen performed a steadying act until lunch.They couldn’t continue after lunch, though. In the first over after the break, Sreesanth shortened his length to counter Pietersen’s forward stride. Pietersen poked before trying to pull the bat away from the seaming ball and Raina, standing close at third slip, took the catch. Sreesanth’s spell after lunch was 7-1-14-2.While all the wickets so far had fallen to testing deliveries, Strauss went to one he should have left from Praveen. He drove away from his body and was caught at third slip for 32. Strauss’s departure exposed England’s weakest link, Eoin Morgan, who failed once again by falling lbw to Praveen for a duck. And when Matt Prior, India’s tormentor at Lord’s, edged the perfect outswinger to be caught at slip for 1, England were 88 for 6.Ian Bell and Tim Bresnan, who replaced the injured Chris Tremlett, put on 29 for the seventh wicket. Dravid dropped Bell on 22 but he eventually went for 31, under-edging a cut off Ishant to Dhoni, after Bresnan had fallen for 11.Resuming on 124 for 8 after tea, India’s bowlers inexplicably abandoned the plans they used to dismiss England’s top order. Instead of pitching full and seaming it away, they bowled a shorter length with wider lines, giving Broad and Swann space to play shots. Broad swung hard and connected cleanly. Some shots fell tantalisingly over fielders’ heads. Others landed short. Swann too used a fearless approach to ambush India.Abhinav had the opportunity to catch Swann at mid-off but he was slow in moving forward, perhaps because he was wearing shin pads in the outfield. The Indians scattered, leaving vast expanses unmanned, allowing runs if the ball touched bat or body. Suddenly, the old men were exposed. There was a single taken just wide of slip because Laxman was moving like a snail. It was an astounding turnaround.The 50 partnership came in seven overs and the resistance had reached 73 in the 12th over when Praveen got a length ball to kick sharply at Swann, who gloved it to gully and was later taken for an x-ray. There was only angry relief in the Indian camp. Their outstanding work in two sessions had unraveled spectacularly in an hour.Broad steered England past 200 and reached his half-century off 56 balls. He was eventually caught on the deep midwicket boundary but his 64 had given England a fighting total in difficult batting conditions.

Surrey’s County Championship clash with Kent hangs in the balance heading into the final day at The Oval after a century by visiting captain Rob Key

12-Jul-2011
ScorecardSurrey’s County Championship clash with Kent hangs in the balance heading into the final day at The Oval after a century by visiting captain Rob Key left side needing 52 runs for victory with just two wickets remaining.While three of his team-mates needlessly tossed away their wickets, former England batsman Key played sublimely to score the 44th hundred of his career and help Kent to 270 for 8 at stumps on day three. Key featured in three significant stands and survived an additional half-hour’s play to go into the deciding day unbeaten on 144 alongside ninth-wicket partner Robbie Joseph.Chasing 322 to secure only the third victory of their Division Two campaign, Kent lost Joe Denly to the eighth ball of the reply, the right-hander dragging the ball onto his leg stump from a good length off-cutter by Tim Linley.Then, to Gareth Batty’s final ball before lunch, Sam Northeast played back and across the line of a turning delivery to become the 10th lbw victim of the match. Martin van Jaarsveld and Key then combined forces to add 109 in 29 overs either side of lunch to reduce Kent’s target below 200. Key reached an 83-ball half-century, but soon after van Jaarsveld went for 35, gloving Linley’s leg-side long hop to the wicketkeeper.Three overs later, Darren Stevens became Zafar Ansari’s maiden Championship scalp when he missed an ambitious sweep and went lbw to make it 149 for 4 at tea. Key marched on to his 39th century for Kent and his first of the season from 163 balls as he and Geraint Jones added 67 inside 25 overs, only for Jones to lose his concentration and his wicket.Charging down the wicket and aiming to dispatch one from Batty into the pavilion, Jones was caught behind off a thin edge that counterpart Steve Davies clung on to at the second attempt. Alex Blake contributed a bright 26 to a 30-run partnership before shouldering arms to a Batty arm ball that grazed off stump, then Wahab Riaz flayed haplessly at his fourth ball from Linley to spoon a catch to cover.With eight extra overs to bowl, seven of them with the new ball, Surrey snapped up David Balcombe when he fenced at a short one from Linley and steered it to slip to tip the balance firmly in Surrey’s favour.Earlier, Kent took a shade over an hour of the morning to session to take Surrey’s three remaining second-innings wickets as the hosts eventually reached 184. Balcombe, on loan for the month from Hampshire, finished with 5 for 63 on his Kent debut.