A catastrophic batting collapse saw Kent forced to follow-on against Essex on day two of their County Championship encounter at Canterbury.
Having performed well with the ball in bowling the visitors out for 276, Kent were blown away within 50 overs, all out for just 107 with ex-Kent bowler David Masters taking 6-41.
Kent saw out the opening 10 overs of their second innings out without loss before the end of proceedings; the home side still 161 runs behind Essex with two days left, although the weather is expected to play a part in proceedings before the match is over.
Occupying third place in division two and hunting for promotion, Essex began day two in a decent position at 186-4, with Owais Shah (83 not out) and Ben Foakes (38 not out) at the crease. Mark Davies found the breakthrough in the sixth over of the day with the 17th delivery with the new ball, trapping Shah lbw as he attempted to play to leg, having added just one more run to his overnight score.
Visiting skipper James Foster joined Foakes at the crease, and the youngster brought up his third Championship fifty of the season, from 110 balls, his second in consecutive games against Kent, having made 86 not out in Kent’s away game at Chelmsford earlier in the season.
Charlie Shreck caused him a few problems during the morning with the swinging ball, but on the whole the England under-19 man had looked assured, before being removed by the tall Kent seamer five overs after his half-century was brought up. Sam Northeast took the catch at second slip, leaving Essex 214-6 with Napier joining Foster in the middle.
The dangerous all-rounder Napier would not last too long, however. Having made 9 from 16 balls, he drove Darren Stevens to Adam Ball, on as a substitute fielder, at cover; the youngster taking an excellent catch low to his left.
Former Kent bowler David Masters was the next man in, but found himself back in the pavilion shortly before lunch, bowled by a sharp turner from Adam Riley for 4, as the visitors reached the interval on 246-8.
James Foster, who had gone to lunch on a slowly made 18, picked up the pace after the break, playing some more inventive shots including a swept six off Davies. Trying and failing to follow his captain’s lead, Monty Panesar chipped the same man in the air to Charlie Shreck at mid-off for 6, before Foster was the last man out for a well-made 46, bowled trying to sweep Davies, who finished with a deserved 4-67 from 24.3 hard working overs.
Essex were all out for 276, and though they may have been looking for more given their overnight position, many felt it could well turn out to be a competitive score given the conditions. Few would have expected Kent to capitulate quite as badly as they did, however.
Sam Northeast and Rob Key made their way to the crease to open for the home side, with Essex noticeably vocal in the field as they had a number of early lbw shouts against both men turned down.
Evergreen seamer Masters picked up the visitors first wicket in his fourth over, Northeast edging to Ryan ten Doeschate at second slip for 11, and picked up a second not long afterwards, as Daniel Bell-Drummond (1) missed one which nipped back in to him and removed his off stump from the ground, leaving Kent 26-2.
The home side’s troubles worsened just two overs later, as Napier, replacing Masters from the Pavilion End, struck in his first over. Brendan Nash edged outside off stump to Foster, leaving Kent in a perilous position at 28-3.
Rob Key was still at the crease, and having been joined by Ben Harmison, the pair attempted to settle matters down slightly. Former captain Key was dismissed five over later though, Masters again the bowler, having changed to the Nackington Road End, inducing an inside edge from Key (25) onto his own stumps, Kent falling to 44-4.
Darren Stevens, who hit 136 against Essex in the reverse fixture at Chelmsford in May, would also come and go before the tea interval, trapped on his crease by David Masters to be given out plum lbw. Kent reached tea at 71-5 with Ben Harmison and Geraint Jones at the crease, still needing 56 more runs to avoid the follow-on, with Masters having taken 4-26 from his 11 overs.
Resuming for the final session of the day, Harmison and Jones added another 20 runs to the score, before Kent’s wicket-keeper and stand-in captain was trapped lbw by Graham Napier for 16.
Calum Haggett was then on the receiving end of a Napier yorker which bowled him for 6, before Mark Davies (1) attempted a slog off Reece Topley in the next over, only to completely miss and have his off stump sent cartwheeling away behind him, leaving Kent 100-8 as Adam Riley came to the crease.
His stay didn’t last too long as he edged Masters to Foster for 2, before Charlie Shreck went first ball, again to Masters, Ben Foakes taking an excellent reaction catch at short leg, leaving the home side 107 all out in an innings which lasted just 209 minutes.
Ben Harmison was left unbeaten on 30, while Chatham-born Masters recorded season’s best figures of 6-41, while following on, Kent began their second innings exactly four hours after starting their first.
Northeast and Key saw off ten second innings overs without any further damage, closing on 8-0, but the Kent batsmen will know they have plenty of work to do and an awful lot of room for improvement if they are to rescue anything from their penultimate home game of the season.
Kent: Northeast, Key, Bell-Drummond, Nash, Harmison, Stevens, Jones, Haggett, Davies, Riley, Shreck.
Essex: Mickleburgh, Gambhir, Smith, Shah, ten Doeschate, Foakes, Foster, Napier, Masters, Panesar, Topley.
Stumps, day two, Kent vs. Essex, LV= County Championship Division Two, Canterbury, 11-14 September 2013:
Kent 107 all out (Harmison 30 not out, Masters 6-41) and 8-0 are 161 runs behind Essex 276 all out (Shah 84, Davies 4-67).