Middlesex 1st innings: 333 all out

NEW arrival Justin Kemp bagged three wickets and Robbie Joseph a championship-best four for 62 as Kent recovered from a sloppy start to fight back strongly on the opening day of their second championship clash of the season against Middlesex at Lord’s.

Initially, skipper Rob Key must have rued his decision to invite the opposition to bat for the second game running as Middlesex got off to a flying start and Kent a sloppy one.

Key had his fingers burnt badly at Canterbury on Sunday when, after asking Somerset to have first use of an excellent St Lawrence wicket, Marcus Trescothick filled his boots with 158 as the visitors spanked Kent’s attack for 338 in 50 overs.

The Middlesex run rate in St John’s Wood on Wednesday was never quite as high as Somerset’s, yet early on Kent’s bowlers struggled for control of line and length.

As a result, home openers, captain Ben Hutton and ex-Kent batsman Ed Smith, posted 67 for the first wicket inside 20 overs without really breaking sweat then, later in the day, Ed Joyce cracked his first century of the summer.

Though Amjad Khan bowled a luck-less and hostile opening stint from the Pavilion End it was Simon Cook, back on his old stomping ground, who let the side down with a poor first spell from the Nursery End.

The former Middlesex man pitched too short three times in his first over allowing Smith to force three boundaries through cover and cover point as the hosts were gifted a racing start.

Smith added five more fours to his tally and had reached 36 when he was squared up by a Joseph leg-cutter low to Martin van Jaarsveld at second slip.

Owais Shah’s concentration was undone by the lunch break when the England one-day international drove at Khan’s sixth ball after the interval to give van Jaarsveld another catch.

Test hopeful Joyce joined Hutton to add 63 for the third wicket before Hutton suffered a rush of blood that bought a premature end to his 201-minute stay.

Pulling too late at a Kemp bouncer he holed out to Joseph running in from the long-leg ropes to give Kemp, who only flew in from South Africa on Monday, his first wicket of the English season.

The fourth wicket went to a fourth different bowler when Cook, who bowled a better length later in the day, had Jamie Dalrymple caught behind off one that bounced from a good length.

Kemp’s inclusion was the only change to the Kent side that lost to Durham last week at the expense of Neil Dexter and, to their credit, Kemp and the Kent attack sharpened up their act as the day progressed.

Joyce, who scored 85 against Oxford University CCE in his only previous first-class innings this season, lost another partner soon after tea when Nicholas Compton, having waited 60 balls to hit his first four, fell to the next delivery when edging a push-drive against Kemp to the keeper.

Kemp bagged his third wicket when he moved one back off the seam and up the Lord’s slope to find off stump via Ben Scott’s inside edge to make it 255 for six.

But everyone struggled against Joyce. The left-hander swivelled to pull Darren Stevens into the grandstand for the first six of the day to move into the 90s then, in the next over, he square cut Min Patel for the four that raised his 148-ball century.

Stevens hit back by having Johann Louw caught behind after the South African followed a leg-cutter for O’Brien to take a good catch, his third of the innings, stood up.

It was the second new ball that helped Kent and Joseph wrap up the tail as Chris Wright edged to second slip for van Jaarsveld to bag the best catch of the day diving across and in front of Kemp at first.

Chris Silverwood sliced a drive to Stevens at deep cover then, after a last wicket flurry, Joyce fell for 130 from 203 balls in fading light after nicking an in-ducker to slip in the day’s final over.

Kent: Key, Fulton, van Jaarsveld, Walker, Stevens, Kemp, O’Brien, Cook, Patel, Khan, Joseph.

SCORECARD

Middlesex first innings:

E T Smith c van Jaarsveld b Joseph 36
B L Hutton c Joseph b Kemp 47
O A Shah c van Jaarsveld b Khan 12
E C Joyce c Kemp b Joseph 130
J W M Dalrymple c O’Brien b Cook 17
N R D Compton c O’Brien b Kemp 13
B J M Scott b Kemp 12
J Louw c O’Brien b Stevens 1
C J C Wright c van Jaarsveld 10
C E W Silverwood c Stevens b Joseph 2
Mohammad Ali not out 19

Extras 34

Total: 333 all out after 101.1 overs.

Fall of wicket: 1-67, 2-91, 3-154, 4-191, 5-232, 6-255, 7-268, 8-289, 9-295.

Bowling: Khan 23-4-82-1, Cook 18-4-48-1, Joseph 22.1-2-62-4, Kemp 20-3-72-3, Patel 12-1-42-0, Stevens 6-0-14-1.

Bonus points: Middlesex 3pts Kent 3pts.

* MARK PENNELL'S DAY TWO REPORT WILL APPEAR HERE AT THE CLOSE OF PLAY TONIGHT.