Watch: 45-year-old Darren Stevens dismisses Marnus Labuschagne after hitting 145-ball 190
Kent all-rounder Darren Stevens can do no wrong at the moment. The 45-year-old scored a 145-ball 190 on Friday and then backed it up by dismissing one of the best Test batsmen in the world - Marnus Labuschagne.
Stevens trapped the Australian batsman in front of the stumps for 11 as Glamorgan finished the day on 55-2.
This was the second time this season that Stevens got the better of Marnus Labuschagne, the third-ranked Test batsman in the ICC rankings, in the County Championship.
But it was Darren Stevens' innings with the bat that truly made headlines yesterday. Walking out to the crease with the score at 84-6, the all-rounder smashed a blistering 190 off 149 balls, including 15 fours and 15 sixes, to propel his side to a competitive total of 307 in the first innings.
The knock prompted the Barmy Army to cheekily request England to consider including the veteran all-rounder for the upcoming Ashes series.
"There were a few rumours flying around about how I play"- Darren Stevens
After the day's play, a delighted Stevens said it felt good to remind the younger members of the Kent team what he is capable of with the bat.
"There were a couple of words flying around like 'freak'," Stevens was quoted as saying by ESPNCricinfo. "It's nice. Bilbo (Sam Billings) has just done a nice little speech.
"I've played a few knocks like this, there's a few young faces, newcomers to the side that have not seen me play as well and there were a few rumours flying around about how I do play, so they're just really pleased to see it and I'm pleased to perform and get us in a great position."
Batting wasn't easy in Canterbury as winds touched almost 50km/h on the day, but Darren Stevens said he used the conditions to his advantage.
"I tried to use the wind as much as I could because it was tough out there. I tried to use it to our advantage. As long as I got it aerial, I thought the wind would take it with it when I was batting at the Pavilion End. When I was at the Nackington Road End it was a little bit different because they were bowling wider. It was a game of two halves really."
Darren Stevens, whose contract is set to expire soon, is Kent's highest run-scorer and wicket-taker in the 2021 County Championship.