Kent 309 for three after 104 overs

WHEN former Kent all-rounder Mark Ealham arrived at St Lawrence this morning he knew what sort of day this would be.

As Kent and Nottinghamshire prepared to do battle over four days in the re-match of last season’s championship decider the former Canterbury crowd favourite had guessed whichever side bowled first would be in for a tough time.

Seeing the white pitch in the middle of the St Lawrence square and knowing the weather was set fair for the day, Ealham took a cursory glance at the wicket and told Stephen Fleming: “It’s as flat pancake. Win the toss, bat all day and fill your boots.”

Sadly for Ealham and Fleming it was Rob Key who won the toss and it was Martin van Jaarsveld, David Fulton and Matthew Walker who went on to fill their boots.

The pitch proved so flat in fact that it became an uneven contest between bat and ball as Kent, having softened the new ball, set out their stall for maximum batting bonus pints.

Key looked relatively untroubled in reaching 30, indeed he had looked in England form in cracking six fours, but then Greg Smith got one to nip in off the seam and graze the right-hander’s inside edge only to see wicketkeeper Chris Read down the low chance from his left glove.

The Kent skipper went into his shell thereafter and added only a single in the next 11 overs before he pushed forward to Ealham and this time Read made no mistake.

Fulton, never at his most fluent having misjudged a couple of pull shots earlier, battled his way to 65 from 137 balls before the shot proved his undoing.

The ball from Sidebottom was to full for the shot and Fulton only succeeded in finding a bottom edge through to the grateful Read to make it 118 for two.

That bought together van Jaarsveld and Walker for a solid, if bland stand of 187 in 58 overs.

Neither man played expansively, but both played professionally as van Jaarsveld notched his second championship ton of the summer in just under five hours and with 13 fours and a six.

He went unhappily, leg before to the combative Charlie Shreck for 108 just before the close, when moving across his stumps and working to leg three overs from the close.

That left Walker, with a faultless 80 and night watchman Simon Cook (2) to see the hosts through to the close without further ado and with power to add on day two.

SCORECARD

Kent first innings

D P Fulton c Read b Sidebottom 65
R W T Key c Read b Ealham 31
M van Jaarsveld lbw b Shreck 108
M J Walker not out 80
S J Cook not out 2

Extras 23

Total 309 for three after 104 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-72, 2-118, 3-305,

Bowling: Sidebottom 20-5-47-1, Shreck 24-7-76-1, Smith 16-5-40-0, Ealham 17-2-50-1, Swann 26-7-78-0, Hussey 1-0-5-0

Bonus points: Kent 3pts Nottinghamshire 1pt.