Jimmy Cook praised his side for a good all-round performance after Hampshire ended the second day against Kent with their first championship victory of the season in sight.

James Hamblin set the tone by adding 38 to his overnight 12 in just 28 balls before Kent were forced to follow on.

Now first team coach Cook is urging his side to take their chance and finish Kent off at the Rose Bowl today. He said: "It was a good day for us. We spoke about reaching 350 in the morning and would have liked to get the extra point but 345 is quite a good score on this wicket.

"James is striking the ball really well at the moment and has got lots of confidence. He didn't really need to have a go at Martin Saggers with all the fielders back but he will learn to hit the ball along the ground more with experience.

"Dimi Mascarenhas followed up his B& H exploits with four first innings wickets and one in the second after Kent failed to avoid the follow on.

"Dimi bowls a good Rose Bowl length and, along with Mullally he made some good early break throughs," added Cook. "Shaun Udal and Neil Johnson both bowled nicely at the end but there was pressure on their batsmen all the time.

"We caught all our catches and we bowled in good areas for most of the day. Andrew Symonds looked like he was threateneing to get away in the first innings but we manged to get him out. It was a good day for us with some good catching and good captaincy." A first championship win of the season could be delayed by rain today but Cook has told his side to take their chances.

"When we played at Kent we had to settle for a draw but we have to take our opportunities when they come along and that is what we will be looking to do. We've got to keep our heads and stay patient because the opportunities do not come along as often in the first division.

"If you apply yourself you can get runs but there is a bit of extra bounce and movement every now and then and that will continue to offer our bowlers plenty of encouragement."