WHITSTABLE’S Joe Denly missed out on a maiden championship century by 14 runs but helped Kent into a commanding position on the opening day of their Liverpool Victoria Division 1 game with Warwickshire in Birmingham.

Selected ahead of former Kent skipper David Fulton for the county’s final four-day trip of the summer, the 20-year-old former England Under-19 opener batted three hours for an excellent 86 as Kent reached 358 for seven at the close.

The gloss was taken off the day when England’s Geraint Jones, who had just reached a hard-fought 105-ball half-century, edged Neil Carter’s last ball of the day to the keeper leaving James Tredwell unbeaten on 18 overnight.

Opening the innings under leaden skies after his opening partner and captain Rob Key had won the toss Denly, who plays his league cricket for Gore Court, got off to a nervy start.

In his first championship innings since June last year and in only his second, four-day game, Denly’s first run came with a thick edge through the slips and his opening two boundaries were flashed over the slip cordon from the bowling of Heath Streak.

Thereafter, Denly showed the composure and form that has helped him reap 616 runs at an average of almost 62 in the 2nd XI championship this summer.

Fresh from a season’s best 166 against Surrey in Beckenham earlier this month, Denly went on to add 15 more boundaries and feature in stands worth 56 with Key (25) and 132 in 32 overs with second-wicket partner Martin van Jaarsveld.

After lunch Warwickshire took to peppering Denly with bouncers, a ploy that eventually paid off when the young right-hander pulled one from Neil Carter straight to deep square-leg.

Van Jaarsveld reached his 12th 50 of the summer, to move level with Murray Goodwin, Anthony McGrath and John Crawley as the equal top half-century scorers in Division 1, only to follow a lifting leg-cutter from Naqaash Tahir to edge to the keeper for 79.

Two overs before tea and just one short of a second batting bonus point Matt Walker went leg before to a quicker ball from former Kent player Alex Loudon.

That bought together Geraint Jones and Darren Stevens, both of whom were in need of a big end-of-season score, for a decent stand of 57 in 21 overs that ended with the introduction of the second new ball.

Having hit a controlled 61 from 105 balls, with only eight fours, Stevens undid all his patient work by driving a return catch to Streak.

An over later, Neil Dexter shouldered arms to a straight ball from Tahir that grazed the bails and sent him packing for a first-ball duck, then Jones was left castigating himself for chasing and edging the last ball of the day.

Against a weakened home attack and on such a placid Edgbaston pitch one of the Kent top-order ought to have cashed in with a big hundred, as it is, the day will merely be regarded as workmanlike, rather than an outstanding one.

SCORECARD

Kent first innings

J L Denly c Tahir b Carter 86
R W T Key lbw b Carter 25
M van Jaarsveld c Ambrose b Tahir 79
M J Walker lbw b Loudon 19
D I Stevens c & b Streak 61
G O Jones c Ambrose b Cater 50
N J Dexter b Tahir 0
J C Tredwell not out 18

Extras 20

Total 358 for seven after 104 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-56, 2-188, 3-209, 4-249, 5-306, 6-318, 7-358

Bowling: Tahir 20-1-90-2, Streak 22-5-55-1, Carter 25-4-105-3, Harris 22-4-52-0, Loudon 13-0-37-1, Ali 2-1-8-0.

Bonus points: Warwickshire 2pts, Kent 4pts.