KENT surged to the top of Frizzell Championship Division 1 after inflicting an innings and 164 run defeat on champions and former leaders Warwickshire.

It was Nick Knight’s side’s first championship defeat at Edgbaston since September 2003 but no more than Kent deserved having controlled the game from the first morning by simply playing the better cricket.

Indeed, even former Kent coach John Inverarity, now at the Edgbaston helm, conceded Warwickshire had been "in the silver medal position from ball one".

Needing 317 to make Kent bat again, Warwickshire succumbed within 59 overs as Kent took the last eight wickets required for victory by 2.15pm.

Resuming on their overnight score of 45 for two, the hosts had little or no answer to the wiles of left-arm spinner Min Patel, who enjoyed a near unbroken stint for the City End prior to lunch to claim four for 23 in 49 balls.

Martin van Jaarsveld replaced him for one over of off-spin before lunch, but Patel resumed normal service after the interval to finish up with six for 53 – his best figures for Kent in four years.

Turning the ball prodigiously and with plenty of flight he bowled three of his victims, who all played back in defence with fatal consequences.

Knight was first to go, rocking back into his crease to play outside the line of a turning ball that pegged back his off stump in Patel’s first over of the day.

Night watchman Nick Warren feathered an edge to the keeper, then Jonathan Trott was snared leg before, also playing back and across the line.

Jim Troughton’s poor run continued when he pushed forward to offer a bat-pad catch to Matt Walker at silly point.

By lunch Warwickshire had re-grouped through Alex Loudon and Dougie Brown who took the score on the 124 for six with a stand of 47, but within 35 minutes of the resumption the game was over.

Khan’s hostile lifter forced Brown to play on as he tried to drop his hands then former Kent starlet Loudon played back only to see the ball keep low and bowl him.

The injured and leaden-footed Heath Streak, batting with a runner because of a groin strain, was bowled around his legs and last man Neil Carter yorked middle stump by Khan to complete the rout.

It was Kent’s third successive championship win and sends them into the Twenty20 Cup qualifiers starting on Wednesday in great heart.

SCOREBOARD

Warwickshire first innings

N V Knight b Khan 8
M J Powell c van Jaarsveld b Cook 49
I R Bell b Khan 1
I J L Trott c O’Brien b Cook 0
A G R Loudon c O’Brien b Cook 14
J O Troughton c O’Brien b Hall 1
D R Brown c Kemp b Khan 10
T Frost c Kemp b Stevens 23
H H Streak lbw b Cook 51
N M Carter lbw b Kemp 82
N A Warren not out 2
Extras 11

Total 252 all out after 84 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-8, 2-10, 3-13, 4-34, 5-39, 6-52, 7-114, 8-116, 9-213.

Bowling: Khan 18-4-69-3, Cook 23-5-79-4, Hall 24-12-39-1, Stevens 11-3-33-1, Kemp 5-1-24-1, Patel 3-1-4-0.

Kent first innings

D P Fulton c Trott b Brown 6
R W T Key lbw b Bell 75
M van Jaarsveld c Trott b Bell 62
M J Walker c Troughton b Carter 140
D I Stevens c Frost b Loudon 163
J M Kemp b Loudon 25
A J Hall c Bell b Warren 49
N J O’Brien not out 21
M M Patel c sub (Pretorious) b Loudon 0
S J Cook c Knight b Warren 0
A Khan run out (Warren) 0
Extras 27

Total 569 all out after 167.1 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-7, 2-145, 3-154, 4-461, 5-472, 6-517, 7-563, 9-568.

Bowling: Streak 4.1-3-8-0, Brown 28-4-71-1, Carter 31.5-1-127-1, Bell 14-5-45-2, Trott 15-2-37-0, Warren 24-2-104-2, Loudon 43.1-7-130-3, Troughton 7-0-37-0.

Warwickshire second innings

N V Knight b Patel 26
M J Powell b Hall 16
I R Bell b Hall 0
N A Warren c O’Brien b Patel 4
I J L Trott lbw b Patel 12
A G R Loudon b Patel 37
J O Troughton c Walker b Patel 11
D R Brown b Khan 12
T Frost not out 7
H H Streak b Patel 4
N M Carter b Khan 15
Extras 9

Total 153 all out after 58.3 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-39, 2-39, 3-47, 4-54, 5-65, 6-87, 7-124, 8-128, 9-136.

Bowling: Khan 15.3-4-52-2,Cook 6-0-23-0, Patel 25-10-53-6, Hall 11-3-14-2, van Jaarsveld 1-0-4-0.

Kent won by an innings and 164 runs

Kent 22 points Warwickshire 3 points.