Wickets dent Kent's hopes

Kent 249 and 84 for 2 v Lancashire 266 and 321
Scorecard

Kent face an uphill battle on the final day of their County Championship clash with Lancashire at Canterbury. The hosts need a further 255 runs to record a victory, with eight second wickets standing, after closing today on 84 for 2.

After finally dismissing Lancashire for 321 in their second innings, Kent set off after tea in pursuit of an unlikely target of 339 with four sessions of the game remaining. However, their victory hopes were hit by the loss of both opening batsmen in today's final throws. With 38 on the board Joe Denly (12) was squared up and skittled by an excellent delivery from Glen Chapple. Then, having posted 30, home captain Rob Key dragged his back foot when pushing defensively at Gary Keedy and was stumped by Luke Sutton.

The first two sessions of the third day had belonged pretty much exclusively to Lancashire's overseas star and former West Indies captain Shivnarine Chanderpaul whose 120 - the only century of the match - proved the difference between the sides. Fresh from a golden duck in the first innings, Chanderpaul reached a patient 50 from 113 balls and churned on for almost five hours before recording his first ever century against Kent.

Resuming on their overnight score of 103 for 3, Lancashire's only casualty of the morning session came after nine overs when Steven Croft (43) aimed an ambitious cut at Simon Cook and was caught behind. Kent skipper Key rang the bowling changes but with little success as Chanderpaul and Gareth Cross added 89 in 29 overs for the fifth wicket.

The stand ended 10 overs after lunch when Cross, two deliveries after posting his 92-ball half-century, drove over a delivery from Matt Coles and lost middle and off stumps. Lancashire's resistance crumbled thereafter as Coles had Sutton caught at third slip for nine, then Chapple ran past a James Tredwell ball and was stumped by Geraint Jones.

Averaging 12.8 against the hosts coming into this game, Chanderpaul reached three figures by pulling a short ball from Coles to the ropes at deep midwicket - prompting Kent to take the second new ball.

It paid dividends for them when Chanderpaul, pushing defensively inside the line of a Cook off-cutter, went leg before to end his 234-ball vigil. Three balls later Cook, who finished with impressive figures of four for 62, yorked Kyle Hogg for a duck, then last man Keedy holed out off a slog sweep against Tredwell to leave Kent facing a tough four-session pursuit.