A MONTH before the 10th anniversary of his career-best innings, Kent’s Matthew Walker was at it again.

The left-hander played his best innings since that 275 in August 1996 with a magnificent 197 that helped set up Kent’s fine win over title-chasing Lancashire.

Walker fell victim to cramp and dehydration to be run out just three short of the second double hundred of his career.

Walker said: "My calves, my back, my ribs, my thighs, everything ached. I’ve never known pain like it.

"There was two from the moment I hit that ball, but unfortunately my body seized up on the turn.

"I was on the ground looking up when I saw the throw heading back, I knew then I couldn’t make it."

The innings moved Walker to the head of Kent’s averages and left him needing a further 61 to reach the third 1,000-run summer of his first-class career.