Kent just about hold the upper hand after day one of their first home County Championship game of the season against Northamptonshire.

Having won the toss and elected to bat first, Kent skipper James Tredwell will be the slightly happier of the two captains with the home side closing the day on 271 all out with Mike Powell and Daniel Bell-Drummond passing fifty.

It was a fluctuating day’s play with wickets falling in pairs with the sun beating down on the St Lawrence Ground with a good many hundred watching on as they soaked up their first day of Championship cricket back in the county for the new season.

Sam Northeast came and went for a brisk ten before having his stumps rearranged by David Willey and despite swift scoring from Rob Key and Brendan Nash, the pair fell with the score on 55.

Nash was the first to go as was bowled by Steven Crook for 18, denying him the chance to score his fifth consecutive County Championship fifty.

Key was to go in the following over as he clipped Trent Copeland to former Kent all-rounder Andrew Hall when on 20.

That brought both Mike Powell and Daniel Bell-Drummond to the wicket and the pair comfortably saw Kent through to lunch without further alarm.

Bell-Drummond was extremely fortunate shortly after lunch though as he skied a ball from Copeland to Kyle Coetzer at square leg and despite the South African having all the time in the world to take the catch, he somehow managed to spill it.

That was just the let off Kent needed as first Powell and then Bell-Drummond brought up their fifties with the pair putting on 149 for the fifth wicket.

Powell (70) was the first of the duo to fall as he edged Crook behind to keeper David Murphy with Bell-Drummond (68) drilling the ball to Olly Stone (on as sub) at square leg off Crook.

The fall of the those two wickets brought brother-in-laws Geraint Jones (vice-captain) and James Tredwell (captain) to the crease and the pair seemed well set until Jones nicked one from Copeland through to Murphy when on 20.

Despite hanging around with James Tredwell for around twenty minutes, Matt Coles wasn’t to trouble the scorers as he chipped Copeland straight to Alex Wakely with the score having just got to 250.

Mark Davies made a brisk 12 before drilling Copeland to Peters at cover with the score on 271 leaving Charlie Shreck and Haggett to eek out as many runs as possible.

It wasn’t to be though as Shreck became Copeland’s fifth victim of the innings bowled for nought and with that the umpires called time on the day’s play shortly after 6pm.

Kent will come back in the morning hoping for early wickets and keen to put some pressure on the Northamptonshire batsmen.

Kent won the toss and elected to bat

Kent side: Key, Northeast, Nash, Powell, Bell-Drummond, Jones, Tredwell, Coles, Haggett, Davies, Shreck.

Northants side: Peters, Coetzer, Sales, Wakely, Newton, Hall, Middlebrook, Murphy, Willey, Crook, Copeland.

Umpires: R Bailey & G Lloyd

Close of play day one: Kent 271 all out (Powell 70, Bell-Drummond 68; Copeland 5-71).