Kent stand in skipper Geraint Jones said his side “had to learn” from their batting collapse on day two of their Championship game with Essex.

Kent were forced to follow on after being dismissed for 107 in their first innings, in reply to Essex’s 276 all out.

“It’s far from ideal” said Jones. “To be forced to follow on is not good, but we’ve got to learn from it and we’re still battling to save the game, so that’s our mindset.”

The wicket keeper remained confident that Kent could salvage something from the game, however. He said: “We’ve had the opportunity to look at the wicket and their bowlers and assess it, and tomorrow we’ve got to bat all day and into Saturday, so that’s our challenge. You’ve got to be confident and you’ve got to back the individuals.”

Having started the day well, Jones was pleased with the side’s bowling performance, as they dismissed Essex for 276, having been 186-4 overnight.

“We talked about our plans early this morning and it was crucial to make early inroads with that new ball, and the guys did that”, he said. “The wicket of Owais [Shah] early on was crucial, so I was more than happy with the way the guys went about it this morning.”

Former Kent bowler David Masters was the chief destroyer for the visitors, taking season-best figures of 6-41 in the Kent innings.

“He’s horrible to face” said Jones. “He’s been doing it for the last six or seven years and you know what you’re up against with him. He’s high class at doing it and his results show that. To be fair, he probably wouldn’t mind wrapping this wicket up and taking it with him around the country. It suits him down to the ground. With a bit of nibble and the bounce he gets, it makes it difficult.”

Picture supplied by www.sarahansellphotography.com