IT was a day to admire the rhododendrons at The Nevill, the mauve and purple blooms were past their best, but they were far more alluring than the cricket which, played out on a pitch the host club would do well to re-lay, was anything but thrilling.

It was a Thursday when championship leaders Yorkshire elected to bat Kent out of the game. They surely did so in posting 551 for eight by the time Darren Gough declared their innings at 3.20pm and after a fairly uneventful 166.2 overs.

It was all so circumspect that Yorkshire missed out on a fifth batting bonus points because, even after 130 overs, Joe Sayers, who was on 176, believed Adil Rashid on nine was still playing himself in.

As a consequence, the game and Yorkshire's innings meandered on and the Tykes within eight of equalling their best ever score against Kent - 559 at Canterbury in 1887 - when Gough called his side in.

Sayers had gone for 187, Rashid and Tim Bresnan hit half-centuries and Kent's bowlers returned figures they would far rather forget.

They were only 13 short of posting the highest ever total at the Nevill, a record that Gloucestershire posted with 563 in 1934, but Kent were relieved to be getting their go at last.

The problem was, the hosts were on the receiving end of a couple of contentious decisions and, by stumps, they had limped to 116 for four with skipper Rob Key on 59 alongside season's championship debutant Neil Dexter unbeaten on 17 with 286 still needed to avoid the follow-on.

Kent had only 12 on the board when in-form Joe Denly (10) was given out leg before to Darren Gough, even though the ball hit the right-hander above his pad and looked set to drift down the leg side as well.

Three balls later Gough shaped one away from Martin van Jaarsveld who pushed forward and edge to be caught in the slip cordon. In reality, the right-hander did well to nick it.

South African Dean Kruis took the other two wickets to fall in the day, accounting for James Tredwell (16) palpably leg before and then Darren Stevens, caught behind for four, though the batsman left the crease clearly believing he had not edged the ball.

Key, who has a magnificent record in the Royal Spa Town having scored 835 runs here previously at an average of 59, merely emphasised his love for this docile pitch with a 113-ball half century that took him through to stumps.

Kent will go into day four trailing by 435 runs but, unless Gough or Rashid perform miracles, a draw could yet be the most likely outcome.

SCORECARD

Yorkshire first innings

C White c Hall b McLaren 21
J J Sayers c Key b Tredwell 187
A McGrath lbw b Hall 100
Younis Khan lbw b Cook 7
J A Rudolph c Jones b McLaren 43
A Rashid c Key b Stevens 54
T T Bresnan not out 55
S M Guy c Denly b Stevens 25
D Gough c Cook b Stevens 6
J N Gillespie not out 13
Extras 40

Total 551 for eight declared after 166.2 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-52, 2-255, 3-281, 4-368, 5-415, 6-471, 7-511, 8-523.

Bowling: Arafat 22-5-66-0, Hall 15-3-41-1, McLaren 21-2-76-2, Tredwell 47-8-149-1, Stevens 27.2-3-91-3, Denly 8-1-23-0.

Kent first innings

J L Denly lbw b Gough 10
R W T Key not out 59
M van Jaarsveld c Rudolph b Gough 0
J C Tredwell lbw b Kruis 16
N J Dexter not out 17
Extras 10

Total 116 for four after 41 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-12, 2-12, 3-55, 4-65.

Bowling: Gough 8-3-19-2, Gillespie 8-3-21-0, Kruis 7-0-26-2, Bresnan 11-2-19-0, Rashid 7-1-26-0.

Bonus points: Kent 1pt, Yorkshire 5pts.