KENT are battling away in their effort to bat out the final day and force a draw with Surrey having reached tea at 134 for five in sunny Canterbury.

Sadly Ed Smith lasted just two deliveries before he edged a James Ormond leg-cutter into the gloves of Jonathan Batty to bag a pair.

Alex Loudon went back to an Ormond shooter to go leg before, then Michael Bevan’s dismal run continued when he edged one to Rikki Clarke at slip to go without scoring.

Ormond duly went into lunch on three for 14 to leave Kent deep in trouble.

Tim Murtagh then accounted for David Fulton (42) to a regulation slip catch, then Martin Bicknell trapped Niall O’Brien leg before as he shuffled across his stumps.

The sole bright spot of the day for Kent fans so far came when Matt Walker reached 57 to post his 1,000 runs for the first-class season.

Earlier, Jonathan Batty called time on the innings once his team reached 402 for eight for the maximum five batting bonus points.

That meant Kent were batting again by noon with a first innings deficit of 176 and intent only on survival.