By George Dobell Chief Cricket Writer At Canterbury

This may not have been an ideal day to introduce a newcomer to cricket. The batting wasn't pretty, the bowling was hardly eye-catching and the cold wind that whipped across the ground belied the impression given by the bright sun.

Yet for the purist this was an absorbing day's play. It ended with Kent having stolen the initiative after Warwickshire lost six wickets for 100 in the second half of the day

Given fine weather it is hard to see this game ending in a draw, so the fruits of the next two-day's play are likely to have a large say on the course of Warwickshire's season. With the pitch showing increasing signs of uneven bounce, chasing much over 250 in the fourth innings will prove taxing.

Warwickshire quickly wrapped up the Kent innings in the morning; Amjad Khan playing around the eighth ball of the day to deny his side a fourth batting point.

In reply Warwickshire lost Michael Powell early, caught behind off the face of the bat as he belatedly attempted to leave a ball on a good length just outside off stump.

But Nick Knight (209 balls, 11 fours) started brightly. Quick to move on to the front foot, he drove pleasingly through the covers, punishing some over-pitched bowling and finding steadfast support in Ian Bell.

Bell (181 balls, eight fours) built his innings patiently. With Rob Key and Kevin Pietersen both failing, he had a chance to nudge ahead in the race for a Test spot.

Only against the gentle left-arm spin of Min Patel did he prosper, using his feet to skip down the pitch and drill the ball through the covers. Otherwise he was watchfulness itself.

Kent fought back strongly in the afternoon session. With Simon Cook and Matthew Dennington maintaining an immaculate line and length, runs were in scarce supply and Warwickshire all but ground to a halt.

They managed just 79 runs in the 34-over session, and the pressure eventually told. For, although Bell and Knight added 163 (in 63 overs), they never dominated and their reticence played into Kent's hands. They lost momentum and batting had become a tortuous business by the time they were parted.

Bell had one reprieve, on 44, when Cook found some sharp lift to rap him on the gloves only to see David Fulton put down the chance at first slip.

Knight too was becalmed. After a torrid time on 99, he finally scampered the single to bring up the 36th firstclass century of his career (and the 25th for Warwickshire), but in the final 150 minutes of his innings he managed just a single boundary and his second 50 occupied 131 balls.

Patel ended the deadlock. Knight was adjudged - much to his displeasure - caught behind the delivery after achieving his century, pushing at one that failed to turn before later in the same over Bell tried to cut a ball far to close to him.

Jonathan Trott was missed, dreadfully, on 15. The luckless Cook, having produced a beauty to take the outside edge, looked on in horror as Geraint Jones flapped at the simplest of chances and ended up parrying the ball goalkeeper style.

It really is a nonsense that this man is England's keeper. He fumbled and snatched throughout the day and, on the evidence of this game, will be something approaching a liability in the Ashes.

Trott failed to capitalise on the chance, however. In the very next over he was bowled, leaving one outside the leg stump that turned prodigiously, to give Min Patel his 500th first-class victim for Kent.

Dougie Brown (20 balls) tried to give the innings some much-needed impetus. He carved Simon Cusden over point for two boundaries before top-edging a pulled six. But his attempt to square drive the same bowler merely resulted in a slice to point.

Perhaps all his former team-mates wanted to say 'hello', for the moment Alex Loudon strode to the crease, he was crowded by close fielders. He endured a torrid start, but seemed to have come through until undone by one that nipped back.

With Tony Frost also falling before stumps, Warwickshire's tail have some work to do this morning. n Warwickshire seconds went down to a five-wicket defeat to Scotland at Moseley.

Scotland overhauled Warwickshire's 191 for six with seven balls of their 50 overs to spare. Moeen Ali topscored for the hosts with 48 as well as taking one for 39.

KENT v WARWICKSHIRE

(at Canterbury - Kent won toss) Overnight: Kent 342-9 (M van Jaarsveld 118, D I Stevens 88, D P Fulton 53; A F Giles 5-82).

KENT - First innings cont.

A Khan lbw b Streak . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 S M J Cusden not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6 Extras (b3 lb2 w9 nb12) . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26

_____ Total (105.2 overs) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .347 Fall of wickets: 5, 138, 142, 238, 301, 304, 309, 330, 334.

Bowling: Streak 19.2-5-53-2; Brown 15-2-63-1; Bell 6-0-16-0; Carter 17-1-59-1; Warren 10-2-32-0; Loudon 8-0-25-0; Giles 29-6-86-5; Trott 1-0-8-0.

WARWICKSHIRE - First innings

N V Knight c G O Jones b Patel . . . . . . .100 M J Powell c G O Jones b Khan . . . . . . . . .4 I R Bell lbw b Patel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .63 I J L Trott b Patel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19 A G R Loudon lbw b Khan . . . . . . . . . . . .40 D R Brown c Walker b Cusden . . . . . . . . .22 T Frost lbw b Khan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .5 A F Giles not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 H H Streak not out . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3 Extras (b7 lb5 w2) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14

_____ Total (seven wickets, 100 overs) . . . . . .288 Fall of wickets: 16, 179, 180, 212, 239, 266, 279.

To bat: N A Warren, N M Carter. Bowling: Cook 23-7-58-0; Khan 20-6-62-3; Patel 33-8-88-3; Cusden 16-1-57-1; Walker 1-0-2-0; Dennington 7-3-9-0.

Bonus pts to date: Kent 3 Warwickshire 3. Umpires: J H Evans and N J Llong.