Kent v Sussex

KENT’S frustrating fortnight of rain, wet pitches and flooded outfields came to a glorious end as South African Justin Kemp hit his maiden century of the summer to help Kent post four batting bonus points in their rain-ruined LV Championship game with Sussex in Canterbury.

Five of the first six sessions of the game were wiped out by rain, but come Sunday and in sunny conditions more like Cape Province than St Lawrence, South African Kemp revelled in centre stage.

His majestic 148-ball ton with 14 fours and a six was the feature of a record fifth wicket stand for Kent against Sussex worth 167 in 36 overs that beat the 26-year-old record of Mark Benson and Chris Cowdrey set at Hove by five runs.

Left-hander James Tredwell was the other man involved in the partnership contributing 68 in a shade over three hours to rescue Kent after an early morning, three-wicket burst by Ragheb Aga.

A Kenyan-born former league player with Eastbourne, Aga took three wickets in seven balls to force the hosts onto the back foot.

Resuming on their overnight score of 50-1, Kent went in at lunch having mounted something of a recovery to reach 157-4 with James Tredwell on 30 and Justin Kemp on 38.

With early morning cloud cover helping him to move the ball through the air, Aga proved far too hot to handle in his opening stint from the Nackington Road End.

In his first over he twice beat the outside edge of Rob Key’s bat without finding the edge, but Aga was not to be denied.

In his next over, the 32nd of the innings, he swung one around Key’s legs to uproot his leg stump and send him packing for 30 then, two balls later, Aga ran one away from the outside edge of Martin van Jaarsveld to have him caught behind without scoring.

Darren Stevens lasted four balls before he pushed outside off at an away swinger to edge to slip where Carl Hopkinson took a routine catch to make it 76-4.

The hosts re-built through Kemp and Tredwell’s century stand, but then Tredwell went leg before to Collymore, Kemp edged behind to give Aga a fourth wicket then, in the over before tea, Geraint Jones (30) followed suit after a rash back-foot force against Jason Lewry.

After the interval Ryan McLaren lost his off stump to a Jason Lewry leg-cutter but Azhar Mahmood (24) and Yasir Arafat (16) helped the side to 350 and a fourth batting bonus point, at which point Rob Key declared rather than give Sussex a third bowling point.

On an easing pitch, Chris Nash (25) and Michael Yardy had few problems in reaching 55, their side’s second best opening stand of the summer, before Nash edged a defensive push off McLaren to the diving Jones.

Night watchman Aga and Yardy made it through to stumps though and, at 57-1, Sussex will go into the final day training by 293 runs.