It has taken more experienced players than Mark Pettini time to reconcile the twin responsibilities of scoring runs and leading a county side. There were times last year when the young Essex captain looked swamped by the weight of the role he inherited at short notice after Ronnie Irani’s enforced retirement, but after a winter’s hard work a new Pettini was in evidence, yesterday, as he racked up his second one-day century, putting the game out of Kent’s reach in the process.

Having lost what appeared a crucial toss on a damp pitch Pettini took the attack to the Kent bowlers before realising that Ravi Bopara, who joined him when Jason Gallian was run out, was in the very best of form.

Having already scored a big hundred against Northants this week, Bopara seems to have put a winter of huge frustration with England behind him.

Afforded the majority of the strike by his captain, he looked every inch an international player deftly deflecting into gaps on the leg-side, scything cuts and square drives through the point region and lofting the spinners over the top.

The pair added 181 from 28 overs, as a very samey Kent attack was put to the sword. Bopara fell one short of a deserved century off 87 balls, when he touched a leg glance to Geraint Jones but Pettini took up the mantle before he was out in the same fashion for 119 off 141 balls, which included nine fours and a swatted six off James Tredwell.

Chasing 318 always looked a tall order for a lacklustre Kent side, and it became a mountain as Andre Nel and Chris Wright sent down two maidens each within the first six overs. Kent got back in the game thanks to pyrotechnics of the Brendon McCullum variety from Martin van Jaarsveld. The South African has rarely played better in one-day cricket smashing 124 off 93 balls. He added 73 with Matt Walker (33) and a quickfire 54 with the dangerous Azhar Mahmood as Kent threatened to pull off a miracle. James Middlebrook trapped Mahmood lbw for thirty, however, and Bopara returned to bowl van Jaarsveld in the 47th over with Kent still 60 adrift to effectively seal the match.

Essex

*M L Pettini c Jones b McLaren 119

J E R Gallian run out 3

R S Bopara c Jones b Arafat 99

J D Middlebrook c Stevens b Arafat 2

R N ten Doeschate c Denly b McLaren 22

J S Foster (wk) not out 21

T J Phillips not out 22

Extras (lb 14, w 7, nb 8) 29

Total (5 wkts, 50 overs) 317

G W Flower, C J C Wright, D D Masters and A Nel did not bat.

Fall of wickets: 1-26, 2-207, 3-215, 4-269, 5-269.

Bowling: Arafat 9-2-39-2; Saggers 6-0-43-0; Azhar 10-1-69-0; McLaren 10-0-58-2; Tredwell 10-0-52-0; Stevens 3-0-24-0; Van Jaarsveld 2-0-18-0.

Kent

J L Denly b Wright 28

*R W T Key run out 20

M van Jaarsveld b Bopara 124

M J Walker c Foster b Middlebrook 33

D I Stevens c Foster b Phillips 2

Azhar Mahmood lbw b Middlebrook 30

G O Jones (wk) c Bopara b Nel 5

R McLaren c Ten Doeschate b Wright 6

J C Tredwell c Pettini b Nel 3

Yasir Arafat not out 23

M J Saggers not out 3

Extras (b 1, lb 5, w 3) 9

Total (9 wkts, 50 overs) 286

Fall of wickets: 1-47, 2-61, 3-141, 4-148, 5-206, 6-226, 7-257, 8-258, 9-277.

Bowling: Nel 10-2-40-2; Wright 10-2-47-2; Bopara 8-0-56-1; Masters 6-0-26-0; Middlebrook 7-0-38-2; Phillips 4-0-25-1; Ten Doeschate 5-0-48-0.

Umpires: T E Jesty and N J Llong.

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