Kent v Hampshire day two

An opening partnership of 110 featuring the innings of the day by home skipper Rob Key moved Kent into a position of strength before rain stopped play eight overs from the scheduled close at Canterbury Cricket Week.

When umpires Allan Jones and Nigel Llong took the players off the field in persistent rain, Kent had reached 241-3 from 71 overs with Martin van Jaarsveld on 25 and James Tredwell with 14 having helped cut Hampshire’s overall lead to 126.

Joe Denly rode his luck; he was dropped three times by different Hampshire fielders and was caught behind off a no ball even before opening his account, to reach 89 from 160 balls. But Key’s class knock was ended when he fell to a stunning delivery from Chris Tremlett.

Key trudged off after hitting 11 fours in his excellent 69-ball stay and having been squared up by a lifting leg-cutter that grazed the outside edge and flew though to Nic Pothas,

After his demise Denly teamed up with Neil Dexter to add 84 for the second wicket before both fell soon after tea to Pakistan A wrist spinner Imran Tahir.

Dexter, pushing well forward in defence, failed to smother the spin and allowed the ball to roll back to Pothas who whipped off the bails for a sharp stumping.

Then, in Tahir’s next over, Denly rocked onto the back-foot only to lose his middle stump to a quicker ball.

Van Jaarsveld and Tredwell dug in thereafter to leave Kent in a comfortable position going into day three.

Earlier Yasir Arafat and Azhar Mahmood wrapped up the Hampshire first innings, taking three and two wickets respectively, as Hampshire added only 55 runs to reach 367.

In hot, steamy conditions akin to Rawalpindi it was Pakistan pace bowler Yasir Arafat who fared best in taking season’s best figures of 6-86.

The visitors, resuming on 312-5, had high hopes of posting a 400-plus total, but Yasir bowled unchanged for 70 minutes from the Nackington Road End and, in tandem with Azhar Mahmood, helped polish the opposition off by taking their last five wickets for only 55 runs.

Arafat took three in the session, he bowled Dimitri Mascarenhas (12) on the drive, had David Balcolmbe (10) caught at mid-off and then plucked out James Tomlinson’s off stump for a duck to end the innings just after noon.

At the Pavilion End Mahmood chipped in with a brace of near identical dismissals, having Tremlett (4) and Imran Tahir (2) both caught at second slip by van Jaarsveld.

It meant Pothas was left high and dry on 73 after a 205 minute stay and Kent would have to bat through a tricky 50-minute stint through to lunch which openers Denly and Key just about achieved.

Denly appeared to edge the second ball of the innings from Tremlett through to keeper Pothas only to be saved by a no ball call, then on 33, Key sliced a drive against Balcombe to third slip where Chris Benham downed a tough chance diving away to his right.

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