Zak Crawley scores 91 as Kent (222) lead Northants (117 & 47-2) by 58 runs after day two in County Championship

Zak Crawley fell just nine runs short of a century as Kent continued to have the upper hand against Northamptonshire at Canterbury.

The visitors were reduced to 47-2 in their second innings, still trailing Kent by 58 runs at the end of day two in their LV= Insurance County Championship Division 1 clash.

It was Crawley's best score in the longer format of the county game since his 105 against Hampshire in September 2020.

Crawley, 25, said: “I was just trying to play every ball on its merits and they bowled really well, they didn’t give us much to score from.

"As I got in I tried to push on and score a bit more quickly, but they bowled pretty well all day to be honest and we ended up getting 222 when we could have got 300 and put the game to bed, but we’re in a good position.

“It was tough to start and once you get in you never feel that you can score quickly. I never felt that I could just hit through the line like on some other pitches, there’s definitely a ball with everyone’s name on it, there’s enough in there for the bowlers.

“It’s a question of not letting them score too many runs, we’ll try and set aggressive fields and get a few nicks. We don’t want to be too defensive. If you bowl the exact same ball twice ones going to go dead straight and the other’s going to nick. It’s just one of those pitches that comes out of nowhere.

“Sometimes when it’s doing more you’ve got to score quicker, you’ve got to put them under pressure a bit more. That’s what we’re trying to do at England, that’s the style that England want to play so they want to see people in county cricket who can play the same way.

“I think I naturally score quite quickly, that’s my natural game. I think it’s something I’ve got carried away with in recent