Yorkshire were held up by a century for Kent’s Daniel Bell-Drummond on day one of the LV= Insurance County Championship fixture at Headingley.
Bell-Drummond’s 109 off 194 balls recovered the visitors from 20-3 after a fiery new ball spell from Pakistan star Haris Rauf, who claimed each of the early wickets after Steve Patterson had elected to bowl.
The former England Lions man advanced Kent’s cause against an attack who were not offered the assistance from conditions they would have hoped for, reaching 270-6 from 81 overs.
Bad light halted play for around an hour from 4.20pm before Bell-Drummond fell to Matthew Revis after the resumption. Play was later called off for the same reason at 6.15pm, with a total of 15 overs lost.
Dropped on 50 two balls into the afternoon, the 28-year-old took advantage of anything loose on either side of the wicket as his side bid to bounce back from a draw and two defeats at the start of their Division One campaign.
Play all day took place under an overcast sky, with the floodlights on for its majority.
Rauf was Yorkshire’s most likely bowler, finishing with 3-52 from 11 overs.
While Patterson and off-spinner Dom Bess, Yorkshire’s other wicket-takers, were both frugal, it was the overseas quick who carried the biggest threat as he bowled the majority of his overs from the South Stand End.
That stand is now known as the Howard Stand End, named after the late Keith – the founder of the Emerald Group and a huge supporter of Yorkshire Cricket.
Patterson and Ottis Gibson named the same team as fielded in last week’s draw at Northampton.
That included all-rounder Revis, who was awarded his second-team cap before the start of play to rapturous applause from coaches and team-mates in their morning huddle.
Rauf, on home debut alongside Sri Lankan batter Dimuth Karunaratne, squared up left-handed Ben Compton and had him caught behind for three in the sixth over – 11-1.
England Test opener Zak Crawley (4) was lbw playing to leg shortly afterwards before Jack Leaning was trapped in front, stuck on the crease, for a duck two balls into his first game of the season following a hamstring injury.
The former Yorkshire two-time Championship winner is captaining Kent in place of Sam Billings, who is at the IPL.
While Yorkshire are missing injured bowlers Matthew Fisher and Ben Coad amongst others, Kent are also missing Australian seamer Jackson Bird and veteran all-rounder Darren Stevens.
Bell-Drummond, who scored a 149 in defeat against Hampshire last week, reached his fifty off 73 balls just before lunch and his latest ton off 172 just before tea.
Kent’s revival was kick-started by a 133-run partnership either side of lunch between the 28-year-old and fourth-wicket partner Jordan Cox, who made 68.
Cox was trapped lbw by Bess with his fourth ball, leaving Kent at 153-4 in the 47th over.
Bell-Drummond was strong on both sides of the wicket, driving, cutting, whipping and flicking with confidence on the way to hitting his 17 boundaries.
But he fell when he miscued a pull at Revis to Rauf at mid-on as the score slipped to 227-5 in the 72nd – just after the resumption at 5.15pm following bad light.
It also ended a 74-run partnership with wicketkeeper Ollie Robinson, who went on to post a fifty of his own off 94 balls and fell lbw to Patterson for 58, leaving Kent at 266-6 after 80 overs.
South African George Linde will begin day two unbeaten on 18.
Shortly before close, he hit Bess for a straight six towards the Clean Slate Pavilion.
