Warwickshire 207 for 3 (Rhodes 82*) lead Kent 156 (Compton 70, Cohen 3-13, Hannon-Dalby 3-31, Rushworth 3-43) by 51 runs
Kent’s lurch towards Vitality Championship relegation continued as they were bowled out for 156 by Warwickshire on the opening day of their Division One battle at Edgbaston.
Having collected just nine batting points from ten games, Kent were skittled in just 39.5 overs by the seamers before the home side eased past them to reach 207 for 3 at the close.
Warwickshire chose to wield the Kookaburra ball first and took just four balls to strike with it. Tawanda Muyeye, fresh from 211 against Worcestershire at Canterbury last week, sliced the first ball from Hannon-Dalby to the third man boundary and edged the fourth, a perfectly pitched outswinger, to wicketkeeper Michael Burgess.
Muyeye copped an unplayable delivery, but Daniel Bell-Drummond was culpable five overs later when he edged a footwork-free waft at Rushworth to third slip. When Jack Leaning edged Hannon-Dalby to first slip, Kent were in distress at 44 for 3. They would have been in total disarray if Compton had not been reprieved by Rhodes at fourth slip off Rushworth.
Compton and Evison added 57 in 13 overs before the vestige of resistance was torpedoed by a collapse just before lunch. Evison edged Ed Barnard to Burgess and Booth took three wickets in 11 balls to gallop to career-best figures. Harry Finch and Charlie Stobo edged to Burgess and Grant Stewart miscued to point.
Compton reached a defiant half-century from 74 balls but lost an eighth partner when Matt Parkinson edged Rushworth behind and a ninth when Alfie Ogborne sliced Hannon-Dalby low to second slip. Compton was within sight of carrying his bat when he pulled Hannon-Dalby to square leg to supply the bowler with his 500th wicket in all formats for Warwickshire.
If Kent looked devoid of confidence with the bat, they did so equally with the ball as Warwickshire openers Rob Yates and Alex Davies added 62 in 11 overs. Somerset loanee Ogborne trapped Davies lbw and Yates edged former Bears team-mate George Garrett behind but Rhodes and Hain, with tons of time and the weather forecast excellent for the duration of this match, added a sedate 94 in 30 overs. Hain played on to the impressively persevering Ogborne but Rhodes is within 18 runs of his 11th first-class century.
For Kent, this miserable season can’t end soon enough. Warwickshire are charging towards a win that will pretty much ensure they don’t join their rock-bottom opponents through the trapdoor to Division Two next month.