Carter gives Essex a sniff

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James Tredwell top-scored with 40 in a lacklustre batting display for Kent as Essex gave themselves hope at Canterbury

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Kent suffered two abysmal sessions to hand the initiative to Essex on a dramatic day which saw 15 wickets fall in the LV= County Championship match at Canterbury.

The hosts started day three of the relegation tussle hoping to polish off the Essex first innings with a view to enforcing the follow-on.

Their plans were thwarted by a belligerent 42 with eight fours by their former seamer David Masters which allowed Essex to creep eight runs past the follow-on figure of 271.

Malinga Bandara, who took 3-44, wrapped up the innings on the stroke of lunch.

A half-hour break for rain interrupted the Kent second innings after only 10 deliveries, but the unscheduled break appeared to enliven an injury-hit Essex attack.

They returned to the field to claim seven wickets in a shortened mid-session for the cost of only 68 runs.

Both Kent's international openers Rob Key and Joe Denly were caught behind by James Foster off on-loan Andy Carter, before Sam Northeast prodded at one from Masters to fall in the same manner.

Carter continued the demolition by snaring Geraint Jones and Darren Stevens in successive balls.

The former was another victim for Foster, while Stevens fell leg before attempting to work a straight delivery through midwicket.

Carter completed his first five-for haul since joining from Nottinghamshire earlier in the month by having Amjad Khan caught at mid-off, but in between it had been another Kent old boy, Matthew Walker, who broke their hearts.

In only his third first-class bowling stint since joining Essex two years ago, Walker trapped Martin van Jaarsveld lbw and bowled Bandara to halt a brief recovery.

Walker finished with career-best figures of 3-35 by removing Kent top-scorer James Tredwell for 40 as they succumbed for 135 inside 48 overs.

Having been set a victory target of 277 with 14 overs and the final day remaining, Essex lost their first-innings top-scorer Mark Pettini in the third over when he edged a drive off Azhar Mahmood to slip.

However, Jaik Mickleburgh and Tom Westley made it to stumps without further alarm, leaving Essex needing a further 229 for an unlikely last-day win.