WARWICKSHIRE’S bowlers proved too strong for Kent as the Bears won by an innings and 14 runs to secure their first win of this season’s County Championship.
Mark Robinson’s side posted a huge 453-4 first innings score as Sam Hain (165 not out) and Robert Yates (128) and Dan Mousley (94) put Kent’s bowlers to the sword at Edgbaston.
Yates and Alex Davies (23) put on 41 runs for the first wicket before Will Rhodes (6) fell cheaply to the bowling of Conor McKerr (1-104).
However, Yates and Hain put on a mammoth 166 runs for the third wicket before the former was eventually caught off the bowling of Joe Denly (1-49) with Warwickshire on 235-3.
And Hain and Mousley then combined to add 179 runs for the fourth wicket with the latter out caught as the former finished unbeaten alongside Michael Burgess (20 not out).
Warwickshire declared on 453-4 and immediately made an inroad into Kent’s top order as Chris Rushworth (2-38) trapped opener Zak Crawley for a duck.
And Rushworth also accounted for Ben Compton (14) before Hasan Ali (3-36) took the wickets of Denly (14) and Daniel Bell-Drummond (40) and Ed Barnard (1-26) then had Jack Leaning (9) caught to leave Kent in trouble on 82-5.
The home side took no time at all to wrap up Kent’s first innings as Oliver Hannon-Dalby (2-29), Chris Woakes (2-28) and Ali claimed the remaining wickets to bowl the visitors out for just 158.
That forced Kent to follow-on as Warwickshire made another fruitful start with Rushworth (3-58) taking the early wickets of Crawley (12) and Bell-Drummond (3).
And Woakes (3-59) also struck early with the ball to bowl Matt Quinn (2) and had Denly caught for a duck before Ali (2-51) took the wicket of Leaning (1) to leave Kent on 51-5.
Despite some resistance from Jordan Cox (29), he eventually fell to Woakes as Hannon-Dalby (2-41) bowled Sam Billings (4) and Rushworth finally dismissed Compton (88).
And Hannon-Dalby had McKerr (23) caught after a 102-ball stint before Ali claimed the final wicket of Joey Evison (99) who fell agonisingly short of a century as Kent were bowled out for 281.
The result means Warwickshire top the Division One standings after two matches ahead of a home game against Surrey which starts on Thursday, April 27 at 11am at Edgbaston.
