FOR all but Nic Pothas, run-making was a laboured affair. Hampshire extended their first innings, spread over three days, to 271, of which their South African wicketkeeper with a Greek passport and a propensity for going for his shots made 96. This was the only batting of note.

He added 75 with James Bruce for the ninth wicket, which justified Hampshire’s decision to bat on. Pothas, whose four-hour innings included nine fours, a few mis-hits and was by some way the highest of the match, was caught at long-on attempting to strike a second six.

The pitch was still damp, but not one of the Kent wickets that fell could be attributed to movement off it. David Fulton went to Bruce’s second ball, not on top of the shot and edging to second slip. Martin van Jaarsveld cut a short one from Dimitri Mascarenhas straight to point and Rob Key played on in attempting to drive Billy Taylor.

Next, Matthew Walker checked a drive off Sean Irvine and failed to clear mid-off, where Mascarenhas held the catch at the third attempt. When Darren Stevens made to cut a ball too close to him for the shot and edged to first slip, Kent had collapsed to 95 for five. They were struggling to hit the ball off the square.

A sixth wicket fell when Shane Warne, evidently drawing on past encounters, purposefully bowled wide of Justin Kemp’s leg stump until turning a ball sufficiently to hit it. Andrew Hall and Niall O’Brien then made enough runs to give Kent the chance to declare behind Hampshire and hope to be left a target in a match in which 142 overs have been lost. It remains to be seen whether they will take it.