Kent were demoralised in the field again as Nottinghamshire batted out the first day of their Vitality County Championship Division 1 match at Canterbury on Tuesday.
Openers Ben Slater and Haseeb Hameed rubbed salt in the wounds of the division’s basement side with a stand of 196 for the first wicket: Slater made 160 from 217 balls, with 22 fours, while Hameed made a more pedestrian 56 from 142. Jack Haynes then hit 62.
Kent coach Mark Dekker said: “It’s something we spoke about in the changing room at the lunchtime break – (it felt like) Groundhog Day – and the bowlers were the first to take it on board.
“None of them were happy with the way they went about their business. They climbed into us pretty hard in the first two hours and we had to fight and claw our way back in the last two sessions.
“But I think the moment you concede that many runs in the first session, I think the rest of the day is a bit of a claw-back day which, to their credit, we managed to get those six wickets.
“Could we maybe have got one more? Had we got one more, seven wickets in the day, we probably would have taken that.
“It’s just the run-rate is a little bit high, especially in the first session, where they knocked us hard.
“No one in the changing room is sitting there, making excuses. They’re pretty sombre about it.
“We could have been – and should have been – better in the first two hours.”
In a pivotal game for both sides’ chances of staying in the division, Kent chose to bowl first, only for Notts to race to 50 in just 53 balls.
Kent handed a home debut to West Indian Akeem Jordan (1-100) – but his first three overs went for 36 and he was replaced at the Pavilion End by Nathan Gilchrist (2-85).
Slater was on 41 when he slashed at George Garrett (1-77), only for Jack Leaning to drop him at second slip and his 50 came after a misfield by Jordan.
It was 134-0 at lunch – and the afternoon was only slightly less lopsided.
Slater cracked Gilchrist through point for four to reach three figures and Hameed steered Jordan through third man to bring up his 50 before their stand was finally ended when Joey Evison (1-30) bowled the latter.
Freddie McCann then walked after he edged Gilchrist to Leaning for eight, although replays suggested it may not have carried, and Joe Clarke went for 18 when he pulled Garrett to Gilchrist at deep fine leg. That left Notts on 271-3 at tea.
Leaning had Slater caught at first slip by Tawanda Muyeye but Haynes and Lyndon James responded with a partnership of 60 runs before Haynes was caught off a bottom edge by Muyeye off Gilchrist.
James then fell to Jordan for 34 in the penultimate over, given out caught by Muyeye after a lengthy consultation between the umpires.
That left Luke Fletcher and Dane Schadendorf to bat through to stumps on 10 and eight, respectively.
