Hasan Mahmud continued his impressive start to county cricket with a composed all-round contribution as Kent defeated Middlesex by 49 runs at the St Lawrence Ground to move into second place in the County Championship Division Two table.
The Bangladesh pacer, playing his second match for Kent, claimed three wickets across the two innings and made an unbeaten 22 off 39 balls with the bat in the first innings, helping Kent post a substantial total of 416 before the match turned in their favour.
Middlesex responded strongly in their first innings, scoring 443 to take a 27-run lead. Hasan was amongst the wickets during that spell, finishing with two for 77 from 20 overs in a disciplined if expensive effort as the visitors batted deep. Kent then compiled 257 in their second innings, though Hasan could not contribute with the bat this time, falling for a duck off five balls.
Set 231 to win, Middlesex were bowled out for 181, falling 49 runs short. Hasan chipped in with one wicket for 51 in the second innings, but the standout bowling performance came from his teammate Matt Milnes, who took five wickets for just 31 runs to seal the victory.
The win was Kent’s fourth from eight matches, with three draws giving them 117 points. They now sit second in the Division Two standings, behind unbeaten Durham who continue to lead the table.
Hasan is set to leave Kent after this match to join the Bangladesh national squad for their upcoming Test series against Zimbabwe before travelling to Australia. He has confirmed he will return to Kent in September for four further first-class matches.
