Ben Aitchison showed why he is among the most skillful pace bowlers in Division Two as Derbyshire continued to make the running against promotion contenders Kent on the second day of the Rothesay County Championship match at Derby.

Aitchison took 4 for 58, passing 50 first-class wickets in a season for the first time in a career hit by injury, to put the hosts in a strong position at the OurCoop County Ground. With New Zealand seamer Brett Randell also bowling well to take 3 for 36 backed up by Martin Andersson‘s 3 for 39, Kent were bowled out for 219 to trail by 81 runs.

Nightwatchman Bertie Foreman top scored with 49 and Grant Stewart made 48 but it was a disappointing batting performance by a team pushing for the second promotion place.

By the close, Derbyshire had tightened their grip by moving to 100 for 1 in their second innings to take a lead of 181 into day three.

Derbyshire already had momentum after their impressive recovery on day one and with the new ball only six overs old, they kept Kent on the back foot by taking two big wickets early on the second morning.

England opener Zak Crawley’s lean summer continued with another single-figure failure after Aitchison got one to straighten and take a leading edge to gully. That was Aitchison’s 50th first-class wicket of what has been a stellar season for a player whose success should provide encouragement for any bowler faced with adversity.

He displayed promise from the time he made his debut in 2020 but a serious back injury ruled him out for nearly two years until he returned in May 2025. The 27-year-old marked his comeback with 19 wickets in seven Championship games and this season has spearheaded Derbyshire’s attack, playing in every red-ball match to become the second highest wicket-taker in Division Two.

Aitchison’s command of line and length was a challenge for all the Kent batsmen and after Sam Northeast was lbw to one that kept very low from Randell, he ended Foreman’s vigil. In only his fourth first-class match, Foreman played with composure and was one away from a maiden 50 when Aitchison trapped him lbw.

Randell drove home Derbyshire’s advantage, moving one back in to have Tawanda Muyeye lbw before finding a gap between bat and pad to bowl Chris Benjamin.

Daniel Bell-Drummond fought hard until Aitchison skittled him with another ball that kept low and when Andersson struck twice, Kent looked like falling below 200. But Khaled Ahmed helped put on 37 for the last wicket with Stewart who hit eight fours before he missed a drive at Andersson to leave Derbyshire with a significant lead of 81 on a pitch where variable bounce was a threat.

Kent needed to repeat their bowling exploits on day one when they ran through Derbyshire’s top order but although Muhammed Naeem top-edged a pull at Hasan Mahmud, that was their only success and are now a long way back in the game.