Kent fought back well in their County Championship Division 2 match with Middlesex as 16 wickets fell in Canterbury on Friday.
Jack Davies’ unbeaten 47 was the highlight for Middlesex as they scratched their way to 222 all out. Nathan Gilchrist took 3-43 and debutant Kashif Ali claimed 3-60 for the hosts.
England opening batsman Zak Crawley continued to struggle as he went for a fourth-ball duck, lbw to Toby Roland-Jones (1-37) and Blake Cullen recorded 3-51 to help reduce Kent to 79-6, before Harry Finch and Grant Stewart rallied the home side.
They finished unbeaten on 49 and 46, respectively, as they ended the day 172-6.
Kent had prepared a lime green wicket at The Spitfire Ground for the benefit of South African overseas bowler Keith Dudgeon – who had taken eight wickets in the victory over Northamptonshire – but even though he was injured in training on Thursday, they had no hesitation in choosing to bowl.
Dudgeon was replaced by Pakistan Test international Kashif while Middlesex drafted in Stephen Eskinazi in place of Sam Robson.
A crowd of more than 1,200 watched a morning session that was played out to a constant chorus of groaning from the home fielders, with almost every delivery troubling the batters.
Nathan Fernandes made just four before Gilchrist sent his off-stump cartwheeling and Stewart (2-42) then cleaned up Eskinazi for 14 in almost identical fashion.
Leus Du Plooy ground out 25 before charging down the wicket to Kashif and getting caught behind. Middlesex, however, had made it to 89-3 at lunch.
Gilchrist then took charge getting Ryan Higgins in the second over of the afternoon, caught behind for 14, and strangled Max Holden for 26.
One-time Kent loanee Ben Geddes skied Jas Singh (2-47) to Joey Evison at backward point for 13 and Zafar Gohar was bowled by Kashif for 11, playing on.
Roland-Jones went in almost identical fashion. He was put down twice by Ben Compton at short-leg in the 45th over, only to lose his off-stump to Kashif’s last delivery.
That left Middlesex on 150-8, but Cullen and Davies responded with a stand that was only broken when Singh bowled the former’s off-stump for 33.
The next ball to Henry Brookes was nearly caught by Finch but ended up flying through the slip cordon for four. Brookes, however, added just another single before he nicked Stewart to Jack Leaning.
The suspicion that 222 might be a useful score deepened when Roland-Jones hit Crawley plum on the knee-roll of his back pad.
Captain Daniel Bell-Drummond was next to go for Kent for six, shouldering arms to Ryan Higgins (1-31).
Tawanda Muyeye went for a combative 29, nicking Cullen to Eskinazi at first slip, but Leaning lasted just three balls before Brookes had him caught behind.
Evison drove his first ball from Cullen for four and was caught behind off the next, and Compton was strangled for 32 to the same combination.
At that point, it looked like the hosts might subside for under three figures.
But Italian international Stewart led the counter-attack, hitting Roland-Jones back over his head for six and edging Kent closer to parity by stumps on an eventful day.
