Ben Dawkins scored his maiden first-class ton in Kent’s ongoing County Championship match against Durham.
Ben Dawkins hits first first-class ton in a record stand with Sam Northeast
Opening the batting, Dawkins scored 180 off 302, registering back-to-back career-best scores after a 65 in the previous match against Gloucestershire. He was also involved in a record 303-run partnership with Sam Northeast for the second wicket – Kent’s highest stand for any wicket against Durham.
Dawkins and Zak Crawley, who was recently dropped from the England Test squad, built a 61-run opening partnership before the latter fell to Ben Stokes in the first session on day one. Northeast walked in at No. 3 and, along with the teenage opener, made the Durham bowlers toil hard.
The duo went on to add 303 runs for the second wicket, while also completing their respective centuries on day one. While Northeast completed a 36th first-class ton, Dawkins got to his first-ever in the format. Their 303-run stand broke the record set by Neil Taylor and Carl Hooper, who had added 197 runs in the 1992 Championship season.
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Ben Raine broke the mammoth partnership by dismissing Northeast shortly before stumps, and Kent lost two more quick wickets to finish the day at 385-4. Dawkins couldn’t add to his overnight total of 180, however, as he became Raine's third victim of the innings in the first over of the second day. Matthew Potts then took two wickets in the next over to reduce Kent to 389-7, who were cruising at 364-1 at one point.
Match 47, Kent vs Durham
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Dawkins, who played for England at the 2026 U19 World Cup, made his first-class debut in the last Championship season. Prior to this game, he had scored 264 runs at 26.40 in seven matches since, with three fifties. Dawkins' career-best score of 65 had come in his previous match against Gloucestershire.
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