Seamers peg back Warwickshire

Kent 43 for 1 v Warwickshire 250
Scorecard

Kent seamers Simon Cook and Matt Coles claimed four wickets apiece as Warwickshire were dismissed for only 250 in their County Championship Division One clash on a bright, yet breezy opening day in Canterbury.

The chill wind that forced umpires Barry Dudleston and Neil Mallender to don black gloves all day, also helped Coles and Cook to swing the ball late and cause Warwickshire's batsmen headaches throughout a first innings that lasted barely five and a half hours.

By the close Kent had reached 43 for the loss of their captain Rob Key and will go into the second day facing a deficit of 207 with nine wickets intact. After luckless opening stints by Amjad Khan and South African Test legend Makhaya Ntini, on his home debut, Khan switched to the Pavilion End to hurry left-handed Ian Westwood into a cramped pull that spooned up to be caught at mid-wicket and make it 51 for one.

Just when Kent's decision to field first was coming into question, so former Middlesex right-armer Cook made further in-roads on his way to figures of 4 for 66. He had England's Ian Bell well held at long leg off a top-edged hook for 10, then, to the last ball before lunch, he enticed Darren Maddy (39) to follow an away-swinger and edge to keeper Geraint Jones.

Four more wickets fell in the mid-session, three of them leg before. Khan trapped Jim Troughton (one) three overs after the interval then Coles came on at 2.15pm and as fifth change to post career-best figures of 4 for 55 from his 14 overs.

A muscular, right-armer from Maidstone, 19-year-old Coles is affiliated to his home town Kent League club, The Mote, and this was easily his most impressive stint to date for the county first team. He bowled an impressive line and nagging length and nipped the ball around off the seam to trap Rikki Clarke (eight) with an off-cutter and then catch Tim Ambrose (14) on the crease and also flush in front.

Cook returned to the party just before tea to have Chris Woakes (11) caught behind and Coles took his tally to four soon after the resumption by feathering Jonathan Trott's off stump with one that nipped back through the gate of an expansive drive and then having Naqaash Tahir (eight) caught low down at third slip.

Trott, with 67 in a shade over two hours, was comfortably Warwickshire's top-scorer. Neil Carter's belligerent 43 included the only six of the day off Cook and helped the visitors to their second batting bonus point, but the bowler soon had his revenge by having the left-hander caught behind.

In the 13 remaining overs Kent lost Key for 18, caught behind by Ambrose off Woakes though the former England man appeared disappointed by the decision as he trooped off with his side's score on 36.