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Surrey v Kent, The Oval, 4th day
van Jaarsveld's second ton seals Kent win
Jenny Roesler at The Oval
July 2, 2008
Kent 270 (van Jaarsveld 114*, Saqlain Mushtaq 5-79) and 166 for 5 (van Jaarsveld 115*, Stevens 63, Jones 39) beat Surrey 397 and 130 (Newman 72, van Jaarsveld 5-33, Tredwell 3-35) by four wickets
Scorecard
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Martin van Jaarsveld completes a memorable match with a match-winning century on the final day at The Oval
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Martin van Jaarsveld continued his one-man show to bring up his second century of the match to complete Kent's come-from-behind four-wicket win against Surrey. After rewriting the script on the third day to help dismiss Surrey for 130 with his first five-wicket haul, van Jaarsveld took full control of his happy ending by overseeing the chase with another effective innings which fittingly remained unbeaten.
He had given a chance on the third evening and was missed again early in the morning off Saqlain Mushtaq on 74, the bat-pad pop dropped at short leg by Matthew Spriegel symptomatic of a lacklustre final-morning display from Surrey. But other than that he and Geraint Jones were content to nibble the readily-available singles and gobble up the boundaries - making a tense situation seem at times like a picnic.
Together they moved Kent along in an assured sixth-wicket partnership of 71. Jones' innings included three crisp clips off the legs and a fine pull all off the unchanged Saqlain until his drive at a wide, full one from Jade Dernbach ended with Ali Brown's catch in the slips on 39.
Jones proved Surrey's sole scalp, their lingering hopes finally thrown away when the new batsman Yasir Arafat was missed on 2, with Abdul Razzaq's straightforward spill at wide mid-on off Dernbach. It was left to van Jaarsveld to polish off proceedings, bringing up his second ton with a strong drive between mid-on and midwicket that was loudly applauded by a smattering of supporters.
For the second day running, the plaudits belonged to van Jaarsveld who has now hit two centuries in a match three times. He achieved the feat on debut for Kent and had previously brought up the mark for Northerns against Griqualand West in 2002. This was the first time, however, he had achieved a five-wicket haul - indeed his previous best was a two-fer - and it came at a good time for Kent, his efforts completely reversing the flow when Surrey were well-placed to bring up their first win of the season.
For so long in this match it had seemed that the stage was set for the beginning of a post-Twenty20 resurgence similar to last year. With that distraction out of the way, in 2007 Surrey turned their Championship campaign around and from relegation candidates stormed up the table. van Jaarsveld, however, ensured they remain winless this season, while Kent brought up their second win, helping them up a tight table where every point is precious.
For the record, it was the third time a Surrey opponent has brought up two centuries and taken five wickets against them. Jack Newman did it for Hampshire in 1907 and John Human for Cambridge University in 1933 - but neither's work was in a winning cause. van Jaarsveld's history-making actions will be remembered for a long time, and could prove vital in the short term.
Jenny Roesler is an assistant editor at Cricinfo
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