Kent reach 205/4 when bad light ends play at Canterbury

At 7/3 after the opening hour yesterday, Glamorgan appeared to be well and truly on the back foot after opting to bat first, and their troubles could have got even worse had Adam Riley at second slip caught an edge from Chris Cooke with the total on 15. But Cooke survived and proceeded to play an outstanding innings, reaching his maiden first-class hundred, besides sharing a century stand with the obdurate Dean Cosker for the eighth wicket as Glamorgan secured three batting points. Indeed, their total had reached 329 by the time Cooke was last man out, caught at long-off for a career-best 171 with his sterling efforts having put his side back into the game.


Having secured just a single in the four overs last night, Kent's opening pair of Rob Key and Daniel Bell-Drummond were looking to lay a decent foundation. The opening over from Graham Wagg saw Key drill the first delivery in the air through mid-off before Bell-Drummond carved a ball just out of the reach of Dean Cosker in the gully. Two overs later, Key struck Wagg for successive fours, the first through extra cover and the second through backward point.


At the Pavilion End, Michael Hogan was in a most frugal mode, besides beating the bat - both on the outside and inside - on numerous occasions during a probing spell with figures of 8-6-2-0. After a brief spell from Jim Allenby at the Nackington Road End , Kieran Bull had his first bowl in Championship cricket and was driven straight for six by Key, before next over Bell-Drummond cover drove the teenager..


Allenby then switched to the Pavilion End and was driven square of the wicket by Key as Kent reached 50 in the 21^st over. The experienced opener then glanced Allenby to square-leg for another boundary, but three balls later, and with the total on 60, Key edged the all-rounder into Wallace's gloves. Ben Harmison duly arrived at the crease and opened his account by edging Allenby for four through the slips followed by a more confident on-drive for four.


Bell-Drummond added a four to his tally by punching Allenby through extra cover as Bull settled into a decentspell at the Nackington Road End, and he was duly rewarded for his accuracy and guile as he trapped Harmison leg before with the total on 77.

Kent resumed on 91/2 after lunch as Graham Wagg and Dean Cosker bowled in tandem. Brendan Nash struck the afternoon's first boundary as he clipped Wagg to the ropes at square-leg before Daniel Bell-Drummond cut Cosker for four to bring up the hundred in the 40^th over. He also dabbed Wagg to third man, much to the bowler's annoyance, before Nash drilled Wagg through extra cover for four.


The cloud cover had increased during the lunch interval and light drizzle started to fall in the eighth over of the session as Michael Hogan returned in place of Wagg. Bell-Drummond then drove Cosker through the covers for an all-run four before completing his patient fifty with a single against Hogan - his 165^th delivery.


The floodlights also came on as David Lloyd entered the attack and in his second over, he ended Nash's stay at the crease as he chopped a ball onto his stumps. Two balls later, the drizzle briefly intensified and the umpires took the players off the field for six minutes.


Sam Northeast began by cutting Lloyd for four through point before Bell-Drummond greeted the return of Wagg by on-driving him for four before despatching a short delivery through extra cover. Kieran Bull also returned shortly before tea but in the final over of the session Wagg removed Bell-Drummond as he groped forward and edged the ball to Wallace.

Resuming after tea on 174/4, Darren Stevens joined Sam Northeast and opened his account by cutting Wagg for four before on-driving Kieran Bull for four. His aggressive intent prompted the return of Michael Hogan who, yet again, beat the bat but Stevens unleashed a coruscating off-drive against Wagg.


The cloud steadily built up and with the floodlights still on, the umpires deemed the natural light was not sufficient for play to continue at 4.45p.m. Play was then called off an hour later with conditions not having improved.