KENT (199 AND 223-1) LEAD HAMPSHIRE (272) BY 150 RUNS

There was a touch of the prophetic about Nic Pothas's Daily Echo column this week.

"If there's one Kent player we should look out for this week it's Martin Van Jaarsveld. He's hardly set the world alight this season but that means there's sure to be a side on the receiving end soon because he has a serious appetite for runs," wrote the Hampshire wicketkeeper.

Pothas is missing from this match with a foot infection, but how right he was.

Not so long ago, Van Jaarsveld had just 42 championship runs for the season at an average of 8.4, but finished the second day at Canterbury unbeaten on 109 (178 balls, 11 fours, one six) as Kent closed on 223-1 - a lead of 150.

The South African shared in an unbroken second-wicket stand of 223 with Robert Key after first-innings centurion Joe Denly was caught at mid-on for a four-ball duck.

At that point, the stage looked set for another bagful of wickets for Stuart Clark, but Van Jaarsveld and Key were only eight runs short of Kent's record second-wicket partnership against Hampshire by the time stumps were drawn.

The ball twice lost its shape - it was changed after three and 11 overs - but Van Jaarsveld especially saw whatever was put before him like a football.

He was fortunate to reach fifty (from 77 balls) by coming down the track to Warne and getting two runs via an inside edge.

He could just as easily have been stumped or bowled but the 32-year-old survived and that was as close as Hampshire came to taking his wicket.

Van Jaarsveld's innings included a huge pulled six over wide long on against Mascarenhas and he reached his first hundred of the season from 166 balls when he clipped Tremlett for two through mid wicket as the shadows lengthened.

Key survived a huge shout for caught behind from Tremlett - and most of the close fielders - on 11 and a half chance down the leg side off Clark on 74.

But he was unbeaten on 96 (184 balls, ten fours) by the close, when Hampshire seemed grateful for the sanctity of their dressing room.

The day ended with Ervine bowling two overs of leg spin, as Kent continued to set Hampshire what is likely to be a sizeable fourth-innings target.

Hampshire had done well to reach 272 and ensure a first-innings lead of 73 after resuming on 124-6.

Tom Burrows (35) was run out when he slipped attempting a single immediately after bringing up the 103-run partnership for the seventh wicket with a cut for his third four against James Tredwell's off spin.

Warne took Hampshire past Kent's 199 and on to a first batting point by slogging Tredwell to the fence at cow corner.

But he was not a happy man when he was given out lbw for 19, having been dropped thanks to a lackadaisical effort from Robert Key at mid on on 14.

Umpire Tim Robinson was on the receiving end of a lengthy glare and Warne took his time before beginning a curse-ridden trudge back to the pavilion.

Mascarenhas (90 from 146 balls, 12 fours) became the fourth of Yasir Arafat's five victims when he was trapped lbw by the second delivery with the new ball shortly after lunch.

At one stage, Tremlett faced 39 balls without scoring a run but ended that sequence with a colossal six over wide long off against Cook that landed beyond the fast food van near the entrance to the St Lawrence Ground.

Tremlett finished unbeaten on 11 (52 balls) when Clark was out to a sensational one-handed catch on the mid-wicket boundary by Matthew Walker.

The diminutive Walker - at 5ft 6in next year's Kent beneficiary is one of the shorter players on the county circuit - did well to keep his feet inside the boundary rope to take a catch-of-the-season contender that lifted the spirits of his teammates.

Key and Van Jaarsveld responded to it by making Walker, Kent's number four, prepare to bat for the best part of four hours on the home balcony. Walker may be waiting for a while yet.

HAMPSHIRE (first innings)

Adams c Jones b Yasir Arafat 21

Brown lbw b Yasir Arafat 0

Crawley c van Jaarsveld b Cook 16

Lumb c Walker b Yasir Arafat 0

Carberry lbw b McLaren 7

Ervine lbw b Cook 22

Mascarenhas lbw b Yasir Arafat 90

Burrows run out 35

Warne lbw b McLaren 19

Tremlett not out 11

Clark c Walker b Yasir Arafat 14

Extras (b 10, lb 8, w 1, nb 18) 37

Fall of wickets: 1-5 (Brown), 2-52 (Adams), 3-52 (Crawley), 4-52 (Lumb), 5-83 (Ervine), 6-85 (Carberry), 7-188 (Burrows), 8-224 (Warne), 9-252 (Mascarenhas), 10-272 (Clark)

Kent bowling: Yasir Arafat 21.3-4-63-5, Hall 15-3-49-0, Cook 19-4-56-2, McLaren 18-4-61-2, Tredwell 11-1-25-0

KENT (second innings)

Denly c Mascarenhas b Clark 0

Key not out 96

Van Jaarsveld not out 109

Extras (b 4, lb 1, w 1, nb 12) 18

To bat: MJ Walker, DI Stevens, AJ Hall, GO Jones, Yasir Arafat, R McLaren, JC Tredwell, SJ Cook

Hampshire bowling: Clark 15-3-36-1, Tremlett 17-2-45-0, Mascarenhas 6-1-36-0, Warne 9-0-45-0, Carberry 2-0-6-0, Ervine 10-1-47-0, Adams 1-0-3-0