Kent Fights to Avoid Relegation

Kent faced a tough battle to preserve their Division One status after being made to follow on by Hampshire on a rain-affected third day of the County Championship at Canterbury.

With relegation looming, Kent ended the day at 70 without loss in their second innings, still 126 runs behind Hampshire. Tawanda Muyeye remained unbeaten on 46, while Ben Compton was 24 not out, as they attempted to close the gap.

Earlier, Hampshire’s Kyle Abbott claimed 5-46, dismissing Kent for 207 in their first innings, where Compton top-scored with 51. Heavy rain then interrupted the evening session, and play was eventually called off just before 17:30 BST.

Kent had begun the day at 64-5, trailing Hampshire's first-innings total of 403 by 339 runs. Compton and Harry Finch managed to survive the first 90 minutes of the extended morning session. However, Compton was dropped twice by Toby Albert before Abbott finally found his edge with his first delivery after switching to the Nackington Road End.

Abbott quickly followed up by having Finch caught behind for 44, and Liam Dawson bowled Charlie Stobo for 10. Matt Parkinson was dismissed for four, but the last-wicket pair, George Garrett and Jas Singh, put up resistance. Singh surpassed his previous first-class best score of 14 before being trapped lbw by Mohammad Abbas for 18, leaving Garrett stranded on 27.

Hampshire enforced the follow-on with 45 overs remaining in the day. Muyeye hit a six just before tea, causing a seven-minute delay as Hampshire searched for the original ball. The weather worsened, leading to the loss of nine overs, and after a brief restart at 17:05, rain returned, forcing an early close.

Kent’s fight to avoid relegation will continue as they attempt to erase the deficit on the final day.