Middlesex have batted themselves into a commanding position at the end of day two of their Rothesay County Championship match with Kent at Canterbury, reaching 222 for six at stumps, a lead of 226.

Stephen Eskinazi gave them a platform with 57 before Ben Geddes cashed in after being dropped twice to make 73 not out.

Earlier Kent were all out for 218, handing the visitors a four-run first-innings lead. Grant Stewart made 56 and Harry Finch 52 but their 101-run partnership was broken in the second over of the morning session. Blake Cullen had Middlesex’s best figures with four for 60, while Ryan Higgins took three for 37.

Kent were still 50 in arrears at the start of Day 2 but after passing 50 in the first over he swished Ryan Higgins to Zafar at midwicket, ending a partnership of 101.

Finch punched Roland-Jones through the covers to bring up his 50 but Higgins pinned him lbw in the next over.

Jas Singh and Kashif Ali almost got Kent to parity, until an eventful 83rd over. Kashif was on 16 when he hooked Cullen, but Brookes reacted a split second too slowly and the chance went down.

However, he was run out off the very next delivery, when Singh drove Cullen through the covers and Zafar Gohar’s throw allowed Cullen to break the with Kashif a centimetre from making his ground. Cullen then bowled Singh middle stump to give Middlesex a slender advantage.

Nathan Fernandes’ run of single-figure scores this continued when Nathan Gilchrist had him lbw for one in the fourth over.

Max Holden, lucky to get off the mark with a tailender’s swipe at Stewart, nicked Gilchrist to Daniel Bell-Drummond at third slip for five in the next over, but Eskinazi and Leus du Plooy steered them to 33 for two at lunch and looked well set for an hour after the resumption until the latter edged Stewart to Jack Leaning for 26, breaking a 56-run partnership.

Joey Evison struck with his second ball, bowling Higgins off stump for 15 and Ben Geddes nearly went in the same over but Tawanda Muyeye couldn’t cling on at first slip.

Eskinazi clipped Evison for a single to reach 50 but was lbw to Singh in the 42nd over and there was further encouragement for Kent members, during an otherwise interminable afternoon session, when Michael Cohen came on as a sub fielder after missing the entire 2024 season with a back injury.

Middlesex, however, were 147 for five when tea was finally taken at 4.23 pm and the game began to drift away from the hosts, with Gilchrist unable to take a return catch off Geddes, who subsequently straight-drove Evison for four to reach his 50.

Jack Davies joined him in making batting look easy on a track that had looked treacherous on day one until Leaning got him for 27, caught by Bell-Drummond at first. Cullen then came in for three deliveries before the players came off for bad light.

Middlesex’s Stephen Eskinazi said: “It was really pleasing to put in a performance to help the team get in a really strong position in the game. I think Kent played unbelievably last night to put the game on a knife’s edge.

“We were always going to have to play really well in the first two or three hours of batting to give us a really good chance with the ball to go out and win a game of cricket. We’re a lot more confident than we have been in previous years, the guys have worked hard on their game so we’re pleased it’s come together.

“It’s been a really good cricket wicket, it’s been challenging the whole way through and when guys have got it in the right are it’s been incredibly difficult. I think there’s been some good pace in the wicket too and it’s a really fast outfield, so you do feel that if you can through that new ball, as Geddo’s shown there you can get on top. It’s going to be a really interesting day’s cricket tomorrow.

“I’ve made some tweaks to my red ball batting and had some time in Bangladesh to tin about the areas where I needed to make improvements and hopefully there’s been some green shoots throughout the season.

“There are some divots that have come out, there ws a lot of live grass on the first day. There were maybe not quite so many demons today, but if you put the ball in the right areas there’s a bit of spin there and we’ve got a high-quality spinner in our ranks so if you’re hot on it with bat and ball you can be successful and you’re going to get your rewards.

“It was a good ball (that got him out) but that’s sort of the nature of early season batting. You can feel like you’re in and in the first 150 balls there’s always something in it for the bowling side so you’ve got to be really hot on it.”

Kent’s Grant Stewart said: “Definitely we’ve seen in pretty much every innings so far that it’s gotten a bit easier once you’ve gotten through the new ball, so I think that’s been the key. Certainly today looked a bit more bat-friendly than day one, that’s for sure.

“It was nice to pick up a few wickets. Last year we played on a few batter-friendly wickets so it’s been nice to get a bit of grass in the last two weeks. The bowlers have had a good run out and taken a few wickets so hopefully we can get the last four wickets early tomorrow, get batting and chase down their total.

“Finchy’s a good man and we bat a bit together because we’re pretty close in the order so we put to a solid partnership, tried to keep it ticking over and put pressure back on their bowlers, tried to capitalise on any bad balls. It seemed to work out for us yesterday and got us up close to their score.

“I think the pace has changed, on day one it flew through a bit more and I guess the lateral movement is a bit more effective with pace in the wicket but I definitely feel today, especially past that new ball that it was a bit more batter-friendly. It sets it up for a pretty good game to be honest and if we get through the new ball when we bat I wouldn’t be too averse to chasing 300 plus on that really. It could be a good day’s cricket tomorrow.”

Picture by Ian Scammell, Kent struggling in the field.