Will Rhodes marked his penultimate home game as a Warwickshire player with a double century to put his side in total command of Kent in the Vitality Championship at Edgbaston.

Rhodes struck a chanceless 201 (295 balls, 32 fours) to lift Warwickshire to 420 and a first innings lead of 264. Such a high-class innings from the former captain suggests that Durham, for whom he has signed a three-year contract, will welcome a player heading into his peak as a player.

Rhodes’ six-and-a-half hour marathon laid a foundation for his side to press hard for their first championship win of the season. Needing 264 to avoid an innings defeat, Kent closed the second day on 157 for three as Olly Hannon-Dalby (three for 26) took his championship wicket tally this season to 43.

Kent’s multitude of problems continues to mount. Their bowling attack, nobly led by George Garrett (three for 76) and Matt Parkinson (three for 94), was deprived of Grant Stewart by a shoulder injury while Tawanda Muyeye could not open the batting as he was unable to field due to a knee injury.

When Warwickshire resumed on the second morning on 207 for three, their progress was immediately brisk. Rhodes struck the first ball of the day to the boundary and five fours from his first 17 balls faced in the session took him to a 151-ball century.

Jacob Bethwell edged Charlie Stobo to wicketkeeper Harry Finch but Rhodes and Barnard rattled up a century stand in 150 balls. Kent are having the sort of season where every time you think nothing else can go wrong something does, and so it proved when Stewart pulled up in his delivery stride, flexing his shoulder, first ball after lunch and left the field.

The fifth-wicket stand reached 145 in 34 overs before Barnard lifted Parkinson to mid off. The last six wickets then fell for 46 as Warwickshire, miles ahead already, threw the bat. Michael Burgess pulled Joey Evison to deep mid-wicket, Michael Booth lifted Parkinson to extra cover and Michael Rae larruped the spinner for six but was then stumped off him. Garrett finished the innings by having Rhodes caught at deep square and knocking out Hannon-Dalby’s off stump.

Kent started their second innings after tea with 43 overs to bat in the day and lost Ben Compton in the fifth of them when he edged a loose drive at a wide ball from Hannon-Dalby to wicketkeeper Burgess. Harry Finch, opening in Muyeye’s absence, and Bell-Drummond added 116 in 29 overs without many alarms but Lady Luck then truly turned her back on Kent in the closing overs.

Bell-Drummond was adjudged lbw to a ball which appeared to be passing well down the leg-side. Finch (38, 96) departed in equal disbelief at being given out caught at slip off his shoulder. Lady Luck, it appears, has a real downer on Kent right now.

Warwickshire batter Will Rhodes said: “It’s always nice to get runs here at Edgbaston and after what has happened to me personally in the last month, with the news that I am leaving, to get a big one in front of the home crowd before I go is very pleasant.

“You never know, it could be my last innings here as a Warwickshire player if it rains when we play Essex, so it was lovely to score some runs. It will be emotional when we play Essex because if has been a great seven years here and a period of my career I will remember very fondly.

“It was nice to score some runs to get us a long way ahead in the game. It has turned into a good batting pitch but it’s great to have three wickets in the bank. Olly showed his class there to get three really important wickets in the last session. If we could have just got one more it would have been the perfect day but it was still a great day and we know we have got the armoury to get the wickets we need tomorrow.”

Daniel Bell-Drummond, Kent captain, said: 

“Obviously we’re behind in the game, but we had a good fightback in that middle session.The guys bowled well, Matt Parkinson stayed patient and got his rewards. George Garrett against his old club bowled well at the end.

“It was a good partnership between myself and Harry Finch, it’s a shame it got broken in those circumstances. Hopefully we can start well tomorrow and try to take the game deep. 

“It’s been a tough year, a tough game too no doubt but we’ve got to keep going.”