Sussex 1st innings: 355 for 8

KENT gave championship debuts to new overseas signings Dwayne Bravo and Tyron Henderson as they set out in chase of their first four-day win against Sussex in Hove since 1992.

Come the first day close honours finished just about even as Michael Yardy, having batted nigh on six-and-a-half hours for an unbeaten 126, helped steer Sussex in to stumps on 355 for eight.

A parched outfield, a tinder-dry pitch and dusty wicket-ends across the breadth of the square awaited Kent’s players on their arrival at the south coast venue, ensuring skipper Rob Key elected to play both spinners James Tredwell and Min Patel.

Young batsman Neil Dexter was the unlucky player to miss out, while Sussex were forced to do without the wiles of wrist-spinner Mushtaq Ahmed, who missed his first four-day game in three years with a stiff neck.

Batting first after winning the toss, second-placed Sussex made the worst possible start by losing a wicket to the first ball of the day from Amjad Khan.

Bowling down the Hove slope, Khan’s full-length delivery nipped in off the seam top catch Richard Montgomerie half-forward, slightly off-balance and very much leg before wicket for a golden duck.

That bought in left-hander Michael Yardy who, after surviving a huge shout for a catch at the wicket from Khan’s fourth ball of the morning, went on to add 39 with Carl Hopkinson.

After opening the attack from the Sea End, Kent’s championship debutant Henderson switched to the Cromwell Road End to snare Hopkinson leg before with an in-swinger that thundered into the right-hander’s left pad after his late decision to shoulder arms.

Fellow debutant Bravo came on for his first bowl in the 10th over of the match, up the slope and into the wind and, though generally on target, he failed to really trouble Yardy and home No.4 batsman Murray Goodwin.

He too switched ends top bowl with more gusto with the wind at his back, but by then Goodwin and Yardy were entrenched.

They both passed 50 in adding 141 for the third wicket in 39 overs before Goodwin’s 143-minute stay came to an end with his first lapse in concentration.

A dozen short of his century the right-hander advanced down the pitch to Patel only to be beaten by drift, dip and turn away from the bat that beat Goodwin’s flailing cut shot and gifted Niall O’Brien a stumping.

Home skipper Chris Adams came in to play and miss at Khan but with his score on three, he too padded up to a shooting in-swinger to go leg before.

The home demise gathered pace when Key cannily placed Tredwell at short extra-cover to have Matt Prior (15) caught throat-high on the drive and give Bravo his maiden championship wicket.

Luke Wright then misjudged the length of another dipping delivery from Patel and, in attempting to paddle to leg, scooped a catch to Key at short mid-off directly off the back of his bat to make it 223 for six.

Yardy and Yasir Arafat added 54 either side of tea for the seventh wicket with Yarafat, a Pakistan A all-rounder who played against Kent for Scotland last summer, moving to 31 with a six off Patel clipped to the short boundary over mid-wicket.

But, in trying to repeat the stroke off Patel’s last ball of the over, Arafat miscued to long off where Darren Stevens took a stunning low catch running toward mid-on.

Henderson, who bowled well with little or no luck, then saw an outside edge off the bat of Ollie Rayner downed at slip by Tredwell before the right-hander had even got off the mark.

It proved an expensive miss as Rayner, a German-born off-spinner who also like to put bat to ball, went for his shots thereafter.

While Yardy went to his century in five hours and 19 minutes with 11 fours so Rayner, who names big-hitting Andrew Flintoff and Chris Gayle amongst his favourite players, gave it the long-handle.

Thankfully for Kent, Tredwell cleared his copybook by beating Rayner in the flight to have him stumped for a bright and breezy 23.

Kent took the second new ball after 92 overs but Yardy and James Kirtley survived it with aplomb, indeed tail-ender Kirtley coped admirably with Khan’s mix of bouncers and yorkers to go in unbeaten on 22.

SCORECARD

R R Montgomerie lbw b Khan 0
C D Hopkinson lbw b Henderson 20
M H Yardy not out 126
M W Goodwin st O’Brien b Patel 82
C J Adams lbw b Khan 3
M J Prior c Tredwell b Bravo 15
L J Wright c Key b Patel 0
Yasir Arafat c Stevens b Patel 31
O P Rayner st O’Brien b Tredwell 23
R J Kirtley not out 22

Extras 33

Total 355 for eight after 104 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-0, 2-39, 3-180, 4-199, 5-223, 6-224, 7-268, 8-308,

Bowling: Khan 20-3-57-2, Henderson 20-4-57-1, Bravo 16-1-74-1, Stevens 3-0-14-0, Tredwell 16-1-52-1, Patel 29-4-82-3.

Bonus points: Sussex 4pts, Kent 2pts.

* Mark Pennell's second day report will appear here at the close of play this evening.