Kent v Lancashire Day one

Kent wicketkeeper Geraint Jones rekindled the batting form that led him to score a Test century for England by playing his best championship innings for 13 months to help his side reach 241-7 on the opening day of their game with Lancashire.

Jones, who had scored only two previous half-centuries this summer, reached 80 not out from 151 balls and with 10 fours at stumps and together with Amjad Khan (16) had added 39 for Kent’s seventh wicket.

The pair came together at the fall of James Tredwell’s wicket after 83 overs when the left-hander clipped a firm drive to gully where Mal Loye took a good sharp catch to make it 202-7.

Kent’s only other casualty of the session came soon after tea when Ryan McLaren (23) had his off stump plucked out by a Sajid Mahmood yorker.

At the start of the day, former England all-rounder Dominic Cork rolled back the years in the first session by taking two wickets in an inspired spell of 9-4-14-2 from the Pavilion End.

Kent lost both openers within the first 90 minutes having elected to bat first.

Rob Key, who has suffered a luckless month, was run out backing up when bowler Mahmood tipped the ball onto the non-striker's stumps from a Joe Denley drive to go for seven.

Then, in the 19th over of the day, Denly's 77-minute stay ended when, in cutting hard at Dominic Cork, he was caught by Loye in the gully to make it 48-2.

Cork struck again in his sixth over by snaring Martin van Jaarsveld leg before for only a single.

Kent lost two wickets in the mid-session, Neil Dexter for 38 and Darren Stevens who, completely out of character, batted 94 minutes for 13 runs.

Dexter, dropped soon after the resumption by Loye, again at gully, eventually went that way when Loye pouched another chance at the second attempt off the bowling of Steven Croft that made it 100-4.

Five runs on, Stevens, having battled away for 62 balls for his 13 runs, mis-timed a clip to mid-on and was well caught by Gary Keedy.

At the start of the day, Kent left out-of-form batsman Justin Kemp out of their 11 and brought in Dexter to bat at No.3.

Azhar Mahmood (knee) and Yasir Arafat (side strain) also missed out.

Kent:Key, Denly, Dexter, van Jaarsveld, Stevens, Jones, McLaren, Tredwell, Khan, Joseph, Saggers.

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