Northants 118 for 7 (Keogh 53*) trail Kent 231 (Muyeye 72, Leaning 40, Weatherall 3-32) by 113 runs
Spring is supposed to bring relief. Warmth from previous gloom as we welcome back the sun with open arms and a kiss on the forehead, despite the fact it left us in the lurch for so long. Forgive, forget and go again.
Alas, at a gorgeously illuminated Wantage Road, the opening day of 2025's County Championship was a case of relive and bemoan, as Kent and Northamptonshire indulged in a back-and-forth of their own misgivings from bygone seasons.
Kent's collapse to 231 all out, having been 164 for 3 after being sent in, was a reminder of the batting frailties that relegated them to Division Two. They were saved by the hosts also doubling down on their failings of summers past, first with an array of shelled catches that allowed Kent to recover from 60 for 3 and then 187 for 7. Then came a loose late afternoon with the bat that already leaves them seven down and trailing by 113.
But the falsest promise was Zak Crawley's, broken within nine minutes of a much-needed new dawn after a torturous winter. A week after kicking away a Loughborough University left-armer for a two-ball duck, England's Test opener fell victim to another, sent back to the Pavilion at 11.09am for one. As many runs as stumps left standing.
Both off and middle were floored by Northamptonshire left-armer Liam Guthrie's 10th ball in English cricket; whipped across the right-hander before nipping in sharply between a huge gap between bat and pad. Guthrie, an Australian with a UK passport in his back pocket, brought the zip you'd associate with a quick reared in Western Australia and honed in Queensland. That dovetailed nicely with this green-tinged, East Midlands surface.
It was a pretty outrageous delivery, capable of making a fool out of most batters. And with a number of deliveries rearing up and darting sideways as the day went on, Kent believe their score is akin to 300-plus. But Crawley's footwork was limited, the scale of his misjudgement exacerbated by the adoption of a more open stance for the leftie coming over the wicket. He walked off sidemouthing this latest seven-ball failure - an 11th single-figure score in 20 innings since the end of last summer.
"Fresh" from a Matt Henry-ruined series averaging 8.66 in New Zealand at the end of last year, and a miserable stint in the SA20 for Sunrisers Eastern Cape that eventually saw Crawley dropped, this innings was not out of step. Regardless of Guthrie's nationality, Crawley's recent record against Australians (53.33 in the 2023 Ashes) and India (40.70 on the 2024 tour) still carries weight for the rematches ahead.
Further extension of this grim run should test the loyalty of selectors. But Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum remain strong advocates of Crawley, as do many of his peers. Even former Kent teammate Jordan Cox, desperate for any slot in the Test team after a broken finger robbed him of the New Zealand series, who marked the season's opening day with century for Essex against Surrey.
"If England said open I'd do it hands down, but it wouldn't be the place I'd want to bat," said Cox, speaking at Chelmsford. "Opening the batting is the hardest job in the game.
"Zak and (Ben) Duckett are the best two openers in the country. Zak, on his day, is by far in my opinion the best opener I've seen. Unfortunately, people have dips, but it's unfair how he gets criticised. He wants to play in a certain way, express himself, playing lovely drives. Hundred in the Ashes, no-one said anything… people need to give him a break."
Nevertheless, there were performances that punctuated the day of players looking to make good on starting afresh.
Tawanda Muyeye's impressive 72 spoke of a renewed drive to balance grind and better shot selection. The 24-year-old was resolute in defence, including making adjustments when his edge was beaten on a pitch with pleasingly good carry. He toughed out a period before lunch as Guthrie returned for a second spell, going into the break with his 11th fifty-plus score in first-class cricket, brought up with glorious cover drive from his 60th delivery.
"It's probably worth more than seventy on that pitch," said Muyeye of the conditions underfoot. "But yeah, I enjoyed myself today.
"I went away in the winter and my biggest work on was finding myself in the middle order and like tough situations like that, and just being mature enough.
"Sometimes I've thrown away my wicket just playing shots that I know I can play, but for the situation it's not good enough. It's just being able to pick and choose which shots to play and just being very specific. Because all the best players in the world just keep things simple and I felt like I kept things simple."
Muyeye should have been dismissed on 57, Guthrie robbed of a well-deserved third as he enticed a late attempt at a back-foot punch with a rising delivery that shaped into the right-hander, only for James Sales to drop the edge at first slip. Just when it looked like Muyeye and Jack Leaning were taking the game away, an inspired spell from Raphael Weatherall provided the dynamite to cave in the middle order.
Weatherall, coming back from a lower-back stress fracture sustained last August in his maiden professional season, took three wickets in as many overs, instigating a collapse of 33 for 5. After bagging Leaning caught behind - ending a 104-run stand for the fourth wicket - he squared up Muyeye to take his off stump for a walk, before doing the same to Grant Stewart. The 20-year-old is highly thought of in these parts, and with Northamptonshire coming into this match without Ben Sanderson (knee), George Scrimshaw (side) and Gus Miller (foot), those vital interjections suggested he is ready to carry more responsibility on his young shoulders.
It was from Weatherall's cues, particularly the lengths hammered, that Kent's seam attack emerged with a clear blueprint. And despite only getting 33 overs at Northamptonshire before stumps, the fact all five seamers were able to register in the wickets column - Grant Stewart and Jaskaran Singh with two apiece, the latter doubling his 2024 tally, while South African Keith Dudgeon took his first Kent wicket after a useful 26 - spoke of a collective focus. Likewise the hoots and hollers from the cordon that punctuated the air as the sun finally began to fade.
"I think that's the best performance I've seen in a very long time form our bowlers," said Muyeye. "Just from the get go - everyone seemed to bounce off each other, just working hard together as a group."
Their first-innings buffer will require more of the same on Saturday, with Rob Keogh, unbeaten on 53, the home side's last hope at something close to parity. The applause when the club stalwart reached his 66-ball half century was as much for his resistance as general admiration for the 33-year-old's pluck.
Last month, Keogh revealed he had spent the 2024 season dealing with mental health issues, with a back problem used as an excuse to explain time spent away from the game. Renewed and refreshed, even in tough circumstances, this was a confidence building knock.
It was far from a perfect start for both sides. But however this match pans out, it did serve as a useful reminder to both new coaches, Adam Hollioake and Darren Lehmann, as they look to imprint their brands of "in your face" cricket on Kent and Northamptonshire, respectively, that change does not come quick. Spring cleans always take longer than you think.
