CLOSE: HAMPSHIRE ARE 18-0, AFTER BEING SET 461 TO WIN.

There was a slow handclap for Shane Warne before Kent eventually set Hampshire 461 to win at Canterbury.

The clouds were gathering when Kent declared last night, and nine overs of Hampshire's reply were immediately lost to bad light before Michael Brown and Jimmy Adams saw the visitors to 18-0.

It meant Hampshire were set to begin the last day of the championship match needing a further 443 at nearly five an over.

The likelihood is that this match will now drift towards a draw.

Warne was furious that Kent captain Rob Key did not declare earlier and he showed it by taking more than seven minutes to bowl one over when the home side were 508-8 - a lead of 435.

To the annoyance of the Kent members, he made frequent field changes between deliveries and even appeared to 'trip' as he attempted to bowl the first ball, when 21 overs were still remaining.

One wag shouted: "I've got an appointment to make in October!" A slow handclap followed but Warne did not seem to care.

Kent eventually declared at 533-8.

Key was certainly cautious. Maybe he was still recalling Kent's brave chase in the corresponding fixture two years ago when, having been set 485 to win, the home side finished a brave chase on 447-9.

But you could understand Warne's frustration.

Desperate for a win after successive draws against Yorkshire and Lancashire, it will now take a monumental effort if he is to experience victory against Kent for the first time.

The day had started promisingly for Hampshire.

After Kent had resumed on 223-1 (a lead of 150), Chris Tremlett had Martin Van Jaarsveld caught behind before he had added to his overnight 109 following a loose drive outside off stump.

Key (120) went on to reach his second century of the season by cutting Sean Ervine for the 11th of his 15 fours before he was trapped lbw by Dimitri Mascarenhas.

With the two centurions gone Hampshire's tails were up, but Darren Stevens proceeded to score his first hundred of the season.

Stuart Clark took two wickets with the new ball in the afternoon session after Michael Lumb dropped an easy chance at first slip that would have given the Australian the wicket of Matt Walker for 38.

Walker (46) was continually bamboozled by Warne's googly but Ervine did well to take a diving catch running in from fine leg after the left-hander top edged an attempted hook against Clark.

In his next over with the new ball, Clark comprehensivley bowled Geraint Jones (4) with an off cutter that made a mess of the former England wicketkeeper's middle and off stumps.

After pulling a Warne delivery against short-leg Michael Brown, Andrew Hall (48) became the Hampshire captain's only victim of the day when he popped a bat-pad catch to the same fielder.

Yasir Arafat (19) departed in the first over after tea but Stevens (105 from 182 balls) remained steadfast before he was eventually out, losing his middle stump after swinging across the line against Jimmy Adams's left-arm medium pace.

Key declared 12 overs later, probably too late to make the last day as interesting as it might have been.

HAMPSHIRE (second innings)

Adams not out 11

Brown not out 4

Extras (w 1, nb 2) 3

TOTAL: 18-0 (4 overs)

To bat: Crawley, Lumb, Carberry, Ervine, Mascarenhas, Warne, Burrows, Tremlett, Clark

Kent bowling: Yasir Arafat 2-0-8-0, Hall 1-0-2-0, Tredwell 1-0-8-0

KENT (first innings)

Denly c Mascarenhas b Clark 0

Key lbw b Mascarenhas 120

van Jaarsveld c Burrows b Tremlett 109

Walker c Ervine b Clark 46

Stevens b Adams 105

Jones b Clark 4

Hall c Brown b Warne 48

Yasir Arafat c Warne b Adams 19

McLaren not out 25

Tredwell not out 27

Extras (b 7, lb 5, w 2, nb 16) 30

Total 533-8 (149 overs)

Fall of wickets: 1-0 (Denly), 2-223 (van Jaarsveld), 3-268 (Key), 4-344 (Walker), 5-350 (Jones), 6-433 (Hall), 7-466 (Yasir Arafat), 8-483 (Stevens)

Hampshire bowling: Clark 28-5-80-3, Tremlett 30-4-76-1, Mascarenhas 20-3-76-1, Warne 37-2-142-1, Carberry 2-0-6-0, Ervine 20-3-95-0, Adams 11-1-37-2, Crawley 1-0-9-0