Warwickshire won the first day of their LV= Insurance County Championship match against Kent at Canterbury, reaching 155 for two at stumps, a score that left them trailing Kent by just 16. At 53, Rob Yates was still unblemished, and Sam Hain was still alive.
When Kent was bowled out for 171 earlier, Oliver Hannon-Dalby got 4 for 56; the total would have been lower if Grant Stewart hadn’t smashed 50 off 45 balls. The final three wickets of the hosts added 93 runs, or more than half of their total.
Glenn Maxwell of Australia, who was originally contracted for the Vitality Blast, made a rare first-class appearance and bowled five overs, taking naught for 17 after receiving his Warwickshire cap in a brief ceremony prior to the game.
At the Spitfire Ground, Kent opted to bat in the bright sunshine, but they treated their innings as though they were still in T20 mode.
Their openers were responsible enough to last through the first ten overs, but when Ben Compton was removed, it was as if a switch had been flipped, and a stretch of four wickets for 19 runs in 4.5 overs began. Chris Rushworth began the slide when he discovered Compton’s edge and was stuck behind for nine.
Harry Finch’s first red-ball trip of the year was even shorter as he made a three-ball duck, Rushworth finding his bottom edge, and Michael Burgess taking a good catch standing close to the stumps. Joe Denly lasted just four balls until he was lbw to Henry Brookes for 1, and he only faced four balls before being dismissed for one.
Jack Leaning had struck a pretty trouble-free 7, but Tawanda Muyeye poked the ball to mid-on, and Jack Leaning hurried down the wicket before realizing his partner hadn’t moved, allowing Will Rhodes to enter and break the wicket.
Although he was saved by a misfield, Jordan Cox came dangerously close to suffering the same fate. He had just made 15 runs when he pulled Hannon-Dalby to Alex Davies at square leg. When the same bowler had Muyeye lbw for 38, a terrible session for the hosts was put to an end.
The only hitter who had an appropriate case for being unfairly chosen, if that decision had been harsh, was Muyeye. Joey Evison scored four runs in the second over following lunch as a result of Burgess’s diving catch after he had stolen Hannon-Dalby.
Stewart was then left to assume the position of Stokes. He joined Matt Quinn for a stand of 40 runs, which turned out to be the highest of the innings, after smashing Hannon-Dalby for a six that flew over cow corner and through the St. Lawrence lime tree.
Before Quinn was caught by his brother Ethan, the substitute fielder, by Brookes for 25 in a frantic 15-ball cameo, Quinn had hit a six and three fours.
Stewart dumped Hannon-Dalby for a series of sixes over cow corner before his luck ran out when the same bowler had him caught on the boundary. Arshdeep Singh smacked his first delivery for a six, but he left the fireworks to Stewart, who was caught on the boundary by the same bowler.
Despite an entertaining hour, the score appeared low, and as Warwickshire advanced to 69 without a loss, it appeared even lower.
The opening stand was destroyed when Alex Davies was, perhaps fortuitously, lbw for 42 by Evison. After that, Will Rhodes was caught behind by Hamid Qadri for 25, but Yates was already on 42 when Kent missed a good opportunity to run him out, and he and Hain otherwise remained calm as they batted through the evening session.
Warwickshire 155 for 2 (Yates 53*) trail Kent 171 (Stewart 50, Hannon-Dalby 4-56) by 16 runs