Kent v Essex Day One - Close of Play report

Bryce McGain announced his Essex debut with four wickets at Canterbury as the home side ended the opening day of the LV=County Championship on 360-6 wickets.

The Australian leg-spinner enjoyed plenty of work to finish with analyses of

 30-1-135-4 and showed he can be an influential performer for the county in the remaining weeks of the season a he deputises for Danish Kaneria.

 

Maintaining a consistent line and length with alterations in flight, the 38 year-old proved a threat throughout the day accounting for the home side’s two top-scorers.

 

Martin van Jaarsveld had recorded his first century of the season in reaching 106 when he drove McGain to long-off where David Masters took the catch to leave Kent 282-4  and the bowler added Geraint Jones to his list of conquests after the addition of a further 48 runs.

 

The wicket-keeper was just one run short of recording a second century against Essex in the season, having scored 135 when the teams met in the drawn match at  Chelmsford back in May, when he chipped McGain into the hands of Andy Carter at mid-on to give the bowler his fourth wicket of the innings.

 

McGain had earlier accounted for Sam Northeast and Joe Denly, for 25 and 40 respectively, whilst the first wicket of the day was claimed by Maurice Chambers who had Robert Key caught for 13 but the bowler was to become the second Essex player to leave the field before lunch.

 

He went off with a side strain after 23 overs of the morning session whilst Ravi Bopara was an earlier casualty being forced off with a back strain and neither player re-appeared during the remainder of the day. Substitute fielders Grant Flower and Chris Wright replaced the stricken pair.

 

The loss of Denly that left Kent 106-3 brought Jones to the wicket to join van Jaarsveld in the highest stand of the day that saw the pair add 176 for the fourth wicket in two hours and 23 minutes before McGain ended the stand when removing van Jaarsveld.

 

Jones and Darren Stevens added a brisk 48 in 10 overs for the fifth wicket before McGain once more interrupted to batsmen’s enjoyment with the total on 330 with Jones the wicket to fall and there was a further wicket for the visitors late in the day.

 

The new ball had been taken at the end of the 89^th over with the total on 348-5 and it was just 6 overs old when Masters found the edge as Stevens went on the drive and was caught by Tim Phillips at second slip for 34 to give Essex a second bowling bonus point and their opponents 359-6 wickets.

 

The remaining bowling figures for the Essex attack were Chambers 8-1-24-1, Masters 22-6-44-1, Carter 19-3-63-0, Phillips 14-1-59-0 and Westley 3-0-19-0.

 

Scoreboard: