SCARBOROUGH

(day three of four; Yorkshire won toss)

Lunch

Kent 227 (M van Jaarsveld 107, JL Denly 50) and 37 for 1; Yorkshire 457 (JA Rudolph 146, A Lyth 68, A McGrath 52, Adil Rashid 43, Amjad Khan 3 for 79, RH Joseph 3 for 112)

Kent had only themselves to blame as Yorkshire, resuming 182 runs ahead with three wickets in hand, extended their first innings lead to an imposing 230 through a last wicket stand of 40 between Darren Gough and Deon Kruis.

Adil Rashid was leg before to Amjad Khan without adding to his overnight 43 and Matthew Hoggard was caught at second slip for a duck off Khan but Kruis was dropped at second slip before he had scored and Gough was also put down at midwicket before he pulled James Tredwell to square leg.

It had been a shoddy performance in the field by Kent, who missed at least six chances and conceded 38 runs in no balls and wides, and they made a poor start to their second innings when Rob Key was caught at first slip off Matthew Hoggard.

Tea

Kent 227 (M van Jaarsveld 107, JL Denly 50) and 182 for 2 (NJ Dexter 72 not out, Denly 66); Yorkshire 457 (JA Rudolph 146, A Lyth 68, A McGrath 52, Adil Rashid 43, Amjad Khan 3 for 79, RH Joseph 3 for 112)

Yorkshire should have had a second wicket in the fourth over after lunch when Denly, then on 17 with the score 55, uppercut Rana Naved-ul-Hasan to third man but Andrew Gale spilled the catch, despite getting both hands to the ball.

The drop was to cost Yorkshire 100 runs. Kent had reached 155 and Denly had moved on to 66, his second fortuitous fifty of the match, off 120 balls with nine fours when he drove tamely at Hoggard and edged to second slip.

Denly and Neil Dexter, who reached his fifty off 95 balls with a six and five fours, had shared a second wicket partnership of 132 in 34 overs and by tea Kent were only 48 runs behind with eight wickets in hand.

Close

Kent 227 (M van Jaarsveld 107, JL Denly 50) and 273 for 5 (NJ Dexter 105, Denly 66, Van Jaarsveld 61 not out, Rana Naved-ul-Hasan 3 for 53); Yorkshire 457 (JA Rudolph 146, A Lyth 68, A McGrath 52, Adil Rashid 43, Amjad Khan 3 for 79, RH Joseph 3 for 112).

Dexter, who had scored only 241 runs in 11 innings for Kent and Essex this season, completed the second championship century of his career with a handsome extra cover drive off Kruis and, at the same time, wiped out the arrears.

He had been batting for 207 minutes, faced 184 balls and hit a six and nine fours and with Martin van Jaarsveld carrying on where he left off in the first innings Yorkshire’s shoulders were beginning to droop until Naved produced a snorting delivery to hit the top of Dexter’s off stump.

Naved made it three wickets for no runs in 14 balls when he yorked Martin Saggers, the night watchman, and had Darren Stevens caught at short leg and at the close Kent were only 43 runs ahead with five wickets remaining.