Kent v Hampshire

After a hot and hard day’s work in the field Kent had only five wickets to show for their toil as Hampshire reached 312-5 after the opening day of their LV Championship match at a sweltering St Lawrence.

Former Kent batsman Michael Carberry returned to his old headquarters to top score with 92 from 179 balls while Michael Lumb also went in the mid-session for a stylish 73.

Having lost the toss Kent seemingly faced a tough and incredibly hot morning in the field, yet these were conditions that Pakistan all-rounder Yasir Arafat enjoyed.

Opening down the Nackington Road slope and with his father and brother amongst the Canterbury Week crowd, Arafat bowled with good pace and found some dangerous lengths to take two wickets in his first three overs.

Michael Brown (6) worked across line of a shooting off-cutter and went leg before in the third over of the day then, three runs later, Sean Ervine played back to a full-length ball that beat the bat and plucked out middle stump to send him packing for nought.

Arafat gave way after a spell of 7-2-21-2 to be replaced by Ryan McLaren, who also bowled sharply down the slope.

The South African Kolpak signing thought he had removed Michael Lumb with the left-hander's score on 24 when he appeared to inside edge a ball onto his pad that flew through to keeper Geraint Jones.

Kent mounted a sustained appeal but umpire Allan Jones turned them down and Lumb and Carberry went on to post a 50 stand after 16 overs.

Then, after lunch, Carberry and Lumb took their third-wicket stand on to 181 before Lumb snicked into the Justin Kemp in the slip cordon off Ryan McLaren who then had Carberry (92 from 179 balls) caught behind driving.

After tea Chris Benham’s 107-ball stay for 49 ended when he edged a drive off Arafat through to Jones to make it 283-5, but it proved Kent’s last breakthrough of the day.

At the start Kent made two changes to their defeated T20 final side, as Neil Dexter and Robbie Joseph came in for Darren Stevens and Simon Cook.

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