AN HEROIC rearguard action by Min Patel and Simon Cook denied Shane Warne’s Hampshire the leadership of the Frizzell Championship first division after Kent batted out the final day in Canterbury to secure a remarkable draw.

Inspired by Shane Warne’s maiden first-class century and gung-ho tons from Simon Katich and England Test prospect Kevin Pietersen, Hampshire looked odds on to notch their third win of the campaign.

Facing a mammoth target of 485 Kent, two down overnight and with night watchman Martin Saggers at the crease, needed a minor miracle to convert Friday’s 121 for two into a draw, yet Patel and Cook, together with last man Amjad Khan, came up trumps.

In achieving the draw Kent hit 447 for nine, the county’s highest ever fourth innings total (beating 429 for five against Worcestershire here last April), and maintained an unbeaten record at St Lawrence that stretches back to June 2, 2003.

The entire batting order played their part in the rescue act, starting with Saggers who hung around for 71 minutes for 23 before being tempted outside off stump, but then Walker followed suit lazily wafting at a wide one from Ervine to be caught behind.

Two more fell in the mid-session when Martin van Jaarsveld’s four-hour stay came to an end with 77 against his name when he fenced at a Chris Tremlett lifter to be well caught by Warne at slip.

Geraint Jones’s miserable May continued when, in attempting to pad away a leg-side ball from Warne, he allowed the ball in-between his pads and though to uproot middle stump.

With just 22 to his name, Jones now seems likely to go into the Test summer with a highest score of 36 from his 12 innings for Kent to date and a miserable aggregate of 195 runs.

Seventh wicket pair Matt Dennington and Darren Stevens maintained the slightest glimmer of Kentish victory hopes by adding 87 in 18 overs, both hitting their second half-centuries of the match, before the second new ball accounted for both.

Dennington, after a career-best 55 from 63-balls, had his off stump trimmed by Tremlett as he played back to one that cut in through the gate.

Stevens hit his second half-century of the match but his stay of two hours and 11 minutes ended in the next over when he padded up to an Ervine off-cutter to be controversially adjudged leg before.

There were 30 overs remaining when ninth wicket partners Patel and Cook came together but the pair saw off 26 of them against all that Warne and the Hampshire attack could toss their way.

Warne had two stints in the final hour, the last of which saw him switch ends for five overs from Nackington Road End with seven men around the bat.

The partnership ended after adding 71 in 90 minutes when Cook (37), pushing forward at a fizzing Warne leg-spinner saw the ball beat his outside edge and uproot off stump having initially pitched well outside leg stump.

Khan then came in with four overs to go, but he played out Warne’s last over and Patel saw off Tremlett’s final six from the Pavilion End to send the Kent player’s on the dressing room balcony into celebration.

The draw was made even more remarkable when looking back to the first day of the game when, having reduced the visitors to 130 for seven, Kent allowed Hampshire to wriggle off the hook through Warne’s 72-ball maiden ton to reach 328 all out.

Kent, despite half-centuries from Stevens, Dennington and Fulton, went on to concede a 23-run first innings deficit which Hampshire built into a mammoth lead of 484 courtesy of sublime innings from Katich and Pietersen supported by half-centuries from Michael Brown and Sean Ervine.

In the end though, Warne was left kicking himself for batting on too long into Friday afternoon as Kent’s never-say-die attitude won through on the final day.

SCORECARD

Hampshire first innings

J H K Adams lbw b Saggers 0
M J Brown c Jones b Dennington 32
S M Katich run out (Stevens/Jones) 56
J P Crawley c van Jaarsveld b Dennington 0
K P Pietersen c van Jaarsveld b Dennington 1
S M Ervine b Saggers 18
A D Mascarenhas c Jones b Cook 9
T G Burrows b Khan 42
S K Warne not out 107
C T Tremlett c Walker b Cook 35
R J Logan b Patel 4
Extras 24

Total 328 all out after 73.5 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-0, 2-61, 3-71, 4-79, 5-104, 6-121, 7-130,8-261, 9-307

Bowling: Saggers 19-4-64-2, Khan 15-2-82-1, Cook 16-4-62-2, Dennington 17-5-63-3, Stevens 3-1-13-0, Patel 3.5-1-28-1.

Kent first innings

D P Fulton not out 64
R W T Key b Ervine 20
M van Jaarsveld c Crawley b Tremlett 1
M J Walker lbw b Ervine 12
D I Stevens c Burrows b Logan 68
G O Jones c Pietersen b Ervine 6
M J Dennington c Crawley b Tremlett 50
S J Cook b Warne 4
M M Patel lbw b Warne 0
A Khan not out 5
M J Saggers lbw b Logan 17
Extras 48

Total 305 all out from 80.3 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-54, 2-63, 3-93, 4-163, 5-226, 6-255, 7-271, 8-271, 9-283.

Bowling: Tremlett 14-2-61-2, Logan 15.3-3-59-3, Ervine 12-2-66-2, Mascarenhas 20-5-53-0, Warne 19-3-50-3.

Hampshire second innings

J H K Adams c Jones b Saggers 1
J P Crawley run out 25
S M Katich not out 125
M J Brown b Patel 54
K P Pietersen c Key b Khan 125
S M Ervine c Jones b Saggers 57
A D Mascarenhas c Jones b Khan 8
T G Burrows c Cook b Khan 13
S K Warne not out 26
C T Tremlett lbw b Khan 4
R J Logan not out 0
Extras 20

Total 461 for nine declared after 113.2 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-2, 2-97, 3-197, 4-248, 5-397, 6-411, 7-429, 8-446, 9-458.

Bowling: Saggers 26-4-82-2, Khan 20-0-106-4, Cook 18-1-104-0, Dennington 6-0-25-0, Patel 33.2-5-108-2, Stevens 6-1-20-0.

Kent second innings

D P Fulton c Burrows b Tremlett 37
R W T Key c Pietersen b Warne 54
M van Jaarsveld v Warne b Tremlett 77
M J Saggers c Burrows b Tremlett 23
M J Walker c Burrows b Ervine 12
D I Stevens lbw b Ervine
G O Jones b Warne 22
M J Dennington b Tremlett 55
S J Cook b Warne 37
M M Patel not out 41
A Khan not out 0
Extras 31

Total 447 for nine after 141 overs

Fall of wickets: 1-56, 2-119, 3-177, 4-199, 5-243, 6-279, 7-366, 8-370, 9-441.

Bowling: Tremlett 31-7-88-4, Logan 18-0-98-0, Ervine 30-4-104-2, Adams 2-1-7-0, Mascarenhas 23-7-65-0, Warne 37-13-65-3.

Result: Match drawn Kent 10 points Hampshire 10 points.