Hick back to his best with flowing century
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Your support makes all the difference.Worcestershire 311-6 v Kent
The Thursday of Canterbury Week is traditionally Ladies Day, but this year it belonged to Graeme Hick as he fashioned the 89th first-class hundred of his career. It would not be unreasonable, given Hick's obvious class, to expect a quarter of that impressive list of centuries to have been made at Test level, but Hick has scored just four for England.
Yesterday he had clearly put his failures in the first Test against Pakistan at Lord's well behind him and, having survived a sharp caught and bowled chance to Martin McCague when he had reached 16, proceeded untroubled and punishingly to three figures.
There is an economy of effort with Hick, but in full flow he looks a million ecus - his effort was witnessed by the Chancellor, Kenneth Clarke - as he cut, pulled and drove the toiling Kent attack to all parts of the ground. He was a tantalising two runs short of his 150 when he took off from the non-striker's end in response to Reuben Spiring's call for a single.
Hick was a slow starter and by the time he spotted the danger Trevor Ward's accurate and fast throw had reached Simon Willis's gloves. Whether his 148 will be enough to persuade the England selectors to give him yet another chance is debatable, but they may be taking notice of Spiring as a possible A team tourist after he shared in a fourth-wicket stand of 160 with Hick.
He showed admirable temperament and generally good shot selection as he made his way steadily past 50 for the seventh time this summer, on two of those occasions he has gone on to make Championship hundreds and certainly looks to have the talent. He did survive a comfortable stumping chance on 41, when he rashly put four yards between himself and safety to have a swipe Min Patel's slow left arm bowling, but Willis passed up the opportunity and it was left to Mark Ealham, the pick of the Kent bowlers, to have him playing on 30 runs later. Thereafter Kent failed to winkle out the limpet-like Stuart Lampitt and Steven Rhodes, who stuck it out until the close to ensure a third batting point.
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