Payne Stars With Bat At Canterbury
23 September 2014
David Payne hit an unbeaten half-century to spare the blushes of Gloucestershire’s batsmen on the opening day of the LV=County Championship match with Kent at Canterbury.
The visitors slumped to 62-8 after Alex Gidman had won the toss before Payne, Craig Miles and Liam Norwell almost tripled the score.
Gloucestershire were finally bowled out for 178, Payne contributing 54 not out, Miles 48 and last man Norwell 18.
By the close the fightback had continued with the ball, Kent slipping to 47-4 before closing the day on 83-4 when bad light intervened.
The ninth-wicket stand between Payne and Miles added 90 precious runs in 24 overs before the latter fell to off-spinner Adam Riley, having faced 90 balls and hit 8 fours.
Payne went on to add a further 27 with Norwell, who hit three boundaries in his 20-ball cameo before becoming a fifth victim of the innings for Mitch Claydon.
When the final wicket fell Payne had faced 89 deliveries, striking 5 fours and a six in his highest score of the season. He was only eight runs short of his career-best 62, made against Glamorgan at the Bristol County Ground in 2011.
Claydon finished with 5-61 and Darren Stevens 3-45, the opening pair having ripped through Gloucestershire’s top order, taking seven wickets between them in the first 28 overs.
For more details on day one at Canterbury click on Cricket and then Match Reports.
