Rothesay County Championship, Division Two, Blackpool (day one)
Kent 178: Dawkins 54; Livingstone 5-55, Anderson 2-13, Bailey 2-23
Lancashire 17-2: Jennings 13; Dudgeon 2-5
Lancashire (3 pts), Kent (0 pts)
Match scorecard
Liam Livingstone marked his first County Championship appearance for nearly five years by taking 5-55 to ensure Lancashire had the best of the opening day of their Division Two encounter against Kent.
Fresh from his 85 not out in Tuesday’s T20 Blast victory against Durham, Livingstone took the last five wickets for 20 runs in 46 balls with a mixture of off- and leg-spin as the visitors lost their last eight wickets for 67 runs, collapsing from 111-2 at tea to 178 all out.
Opener Ben Dawkins had earlier made 54 for Kent, who struck back when Keith Dudgeon bowled Harry Singh for a duck.
And Lancashire suffered another blow 10 balls before the close when Keaton Jennings was leg-before to Dudgeon for 13 and the home side finished the day on 17-2.
Morning rain delayed the start of play at Stanley Park until 13:10 BST and Lancashire’s decision to bowl after a damp morning was initially justified in the fourth over when Harry Finch drove Anderson to Jennings in the gully and departed for two.
The home side maintained their dominance throughout a first hour in which only 23 runs were scored in 14 overs and they made their next breakthrough immediately afterwards when Sam Northeast was bowled for 10 when he played inside a ball from George Balderson.
But having scored only three runs in that cautious first hour, Dawkins seized upon every opportunity to get the scoreboard moving, for example when pulling a Livingstone long hop for six.
The opener reached his 50 off 114 balls just before tea, by which time Kent were 111-2, with Dawkins on 54 and Daniel Bell-Drummond on 33.
That secure progress in the hour before the break contrasted sharply with the visitors’ disintegration immediately after play resumed.
Three wickets were lost in three balls without addition to the score.
Bell-Drummond edged Anderson’s last ball of the first over after tea to Lancashire’s 17-year-old wicketkeeper, Joe Moores, who was making his first-class debut.
Dawkins was then lbw to Bailey and Chris Benjamin was bowled to leave Kent on 111-5.
Bowling from the North End, Livingstone accelerated Kent’s slide.
He had Bertie Foreman caught at point by Bailey for six, Ekansh Singh snaffled at backward short leg by Josh Bohannon for 17 when sweeping, and Dudgeon stumped down the leg side by Moores for three.
Kent’s last two batters were both caught in the deep.
Matt Milnes holed out for 22 at long on, where Bailey took the catch, and Tom Aspinwall caught the ex-Lancashire cricketer Matt Parkinson at deep mid-wicket for 11.
Anderson finished the innings with 2-13 from 12 overs and Bailey with 2-23 from 13.
Report by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay.