Kent came out on top at the end of a rain affected first day at home to Gloucestershire in the County Championship.
In the club’s first game of the season at the St Lawrence Ground in Canterbury, skipper Rob Key won the toss and elected to field, naming an unchanged side from the one which won so convincingly at Northamptonshire last week. This meant that six of the side – Scott Newman, Ben Harmison, Brendan Nash, Michael Powell, Mark Davies and Charlie Shreck – were making their home debuts for the club.
It was Shreck who made the early breakthrough, Chris Dent getting an inside edge through to Geraint Jones on the second ball of the second over, out for 4, leaving the visitors at 4-1.
Play stopped for rain just eleven balls later, within 25 minutes the teams were back on the field with the score at 6-1.
Mark Davies picked up Kent’s second wicket in the seventh over, Gloucestershire’s opener and wicket keeper Richard Coughtrie trapped lbw for 3, leaving his team 14-2.
Man-of-the-moment Matt Coles was brought on as first change bowler, and was once again among the wickets, his first coming in the 21st over as the away side’s skipper Alex Gidman got a thin edge behind to Jones, having been dropped a few overs before by a diving Ben Harmison in the slips.
That brought former New Zealand test batsman Hamish Marshall to the crease, but he went shortly after for 3, lbw to Coles. Lunch was taken with the visitors at 68-4, with their debutant batsman Benny Howell, formerly of Hampshire, still unbeaten on 44.
After the lunch break, however, Howell was sent back to the pavilion without adding to his score, becoming Coles’ third victim, once again lbw, the ball appearing to keep a little low.
The pace bowler’s spells showed good pace, with some people commenting that he in fact seemed to get quicker as he went on, and could have had even more wickets as he drew a number of play and misses from the batsmen.
Will Gidman joined Ian Cockbain at the crease with the away side in trouble at 73-5, and though Cockbain was dropped on 9 by Coles as he attempted a diving effort at fourth slip, the two continued unscathed until the players were once again taken off for rain with the score at 126-5, with an early tea taken at quarter past three. By this stage, Cockbain had made 28 and Gidman 24.
The players came back onto the pitch just over two hours later, and in a period of play lasting just three and a half overs, Kent were able to pick up their sixth wicket, albeit a contentious one.
Ian Cockbain was given out caught in the slips off the bowling of Mark Davies, as Kent seemed to appeal both for the catch and lbw decision. The batsman was not happy but had to go, and as new man in Ed Young made his way to the crease and began to make his guard, the players were pulled back off the pitch due to bad light, bringing an end to the day’s proceedings.
Gloucestershire will resume in the morning on 131-6, with Will Gidman unbeaten on 25 and Ed Young the new man in.
Kent side: Newman, Key, Harmison, Nash, Powell, Stevens, Jones, Tredwell, Coles, Davies, Shreck.
Gloucestershire side: Coughtrie, Dent, Howell, A Gidman, Marshall, Cockbain, W Gidman, Young, Muchall, Saxelby, Payne.
Close of play on Day 1: Gloucestershire 131-6 (Howell 44, Cockbain 32, Coles 3-37, Davies 2-19)