Kent faces uphill task against Northants as Crawley struggles to find form

Kent's Zak Crawley continued his subpar performance in the County Championship, scoring his third consecutive sub-30 run, as Northamptonshire set a record 684 for two declared at Canterbury. Northants' top four batsmen all achieved centuries for the first time, with Luke Procter making a maiden double ton, ending unbeaten on 261. Under pressure to perform, Crawley showed some patience to reach 26 but was eventually dismissed, getting his off-stump knocked back, as Kent closed on 119 for six. Elsewhere, Ben Duckett, Crawley's England opening partner, was run out for one, while Ben McKinney enhanced his prospects with a 244-run performance for Durham against Gloucestershire. Other notable performances included Craig Overton's career-best 141 for Somerset and Rishi Patel's unbeaten 133 for Leicestershire, as the County Championship continued to unfold with several teams vying for dominance.