Kent picked up where they left off in their second County Championship match of the season after an excellent first day performance against Northamptonshire.

After taking a winning draw from their game against Yorkshire last week, Kent kept up their impressive early season form, bowling Northamptonshire out for 132, before reaching 127-3 at the close of play, just five runs behind.

On a cold day in Northampton, there was just one change from the Kent side that took to the field at Headingley, with spinner James Tredwell replacing Adam Riley in the team having returned from international duty.

After losing the toss and being asked to bowl, Kent made an early breakthrough through Mark Davies, who had opener Rob Newton caught by the returning Tredwell for 7. Fellow opener Stephen Peters was the next man to go, lbw to Matt Coles, century-maker-extraordinaire last time out, for 15, leaving the score at 26-2.

Kyle Coetzer and Northants captain David Sales were both out before the thirty over mark, with Charlie Shreck picking up both wickets, caught by Nash for 11 and Tredwell for 13 respectively, with the home side in trouble on 56-4 at lunch.

Shreck picked up Kent’s first wicket in the post-lunch period too, trapping Irish international wicket-keeper Niall O’Brien lbw for 12. Next man out was James Middlebrook, dismissed for just three by Matt Coles, the first of what would turn out to be four wickets in 16 balls for three runs in a superb spell for Kent.

Darren Stevens first removed former Sri Lanka international Chaminda Vaas for a second ball duck, before ousting Alex Wakely lbw for a hard-fought 33, which would turn out to be the top score in the home side’s innings. Stevens completed his trio of quick wickets by knocking two of Lee Daggett’s stumps from the ground for a duck, leaving Northamptonshire in real trouble at 106-9.

Thanks to some aggressive batting from number nine batsman David Willey, who hit 24 from 21 balls, Northants reached 132 before Willey became the last man out, Matt Coles picking up his third wicket of the innings.

On a pitch that seemed to be posing a number of problems for the batsmen, Kent openers Scott Newman and skipper Rob Key started well enough, Newman in particular hitting a number of early boundaries. Key was the first man to go in the visitors’ innings, lbw to Jack Brooks for 7.

Newman continued to try and play positively but was also out soon after, gone for 26 from just 29 deliveries, also off the bowling of Brooks, and Northants may have thought they had a sniff of dismissing Kent as cheaply as they had been themselves.

Their hopes were put on hold by an excellent partnership between Ben Harmison and Brendan Nash however, who came together and put on the biggest batting partnership of the day, before Ben Harmison was run out just short of his half century on 46 a few overs before the close of play.

Nash went through to the end unbeaten of 40, with Mark Davies in as a nightwatchman, and Kent just five runs behind Northamptonshire’s total on 127-3.

Kent will now look to push on in this innings, with the difficult pitch leading some to predict that this may well be a low scoring game. If Nash can continue on in the morning with support from some other members of the batting line-up, Kent will look to post a big total before trying to skittle the home side cheaply again and pick up their first win of the season.

Northamptonshire side: Peters, Newton, Coetzer, Sales, Wakely, O’Brien, Middlebrook, Vaas, Willey, Daggett, Brooks.

Kent side: Newman, Key, Harmison, Nash, Powell, Stevens, Jones, Coles, Tredwell, Davies, Shreck.

Close of play on Day 1: Kent 127-3 (Harmison 46, Nash 40no, Brooks 2-40). Northants 132 all out (Wakely 33, Coles 3-32, Stevens 3-38, Shreck 3-42).