Azhar propels Kent

Azhar Mahmood made his mark for Kent with a hundred

Azhar Mahmood’s brilliant century on his Kent debut was the highlight as bad light prevented Nottinghamshire starting their second innings on the verge of LV County Championship Division One victory at Canterbury.

The visitors were left needing just 22 runs to win after Kent's second innings closed on 293.

Mahmood’s century was the main feature of the third day's play which was prolonged due to stoppages for bad light.

Mahmood's 116 spanned a shade over three hours and he put on a 138-run stand for the sixth wicket with Martin van Jaarsveld who hit a superb 79 to revive the innings from 85 for five.

Resuming on the overnight score of 14 without loss, Kent lost the wicket of Rob Key (three) on 30 when he pushed at a ball from Darren Pattinson and was caught behind.

Joe Denly too edged to the wicketkeeper from a ball which was on the up from Charlie Shreck and then, nine runs later, Kent were 53 for three with Matthew Walker providing a third catch to Chris Read.

Within the last half hour before lunch, the visitors struck twice in quick succession through Paul Franks, who had replaced Pattinson in a double bowling change as Mark Ealham had been brought on for Shreck.

Martin van Jaarsveld contributed 79 © Getty Images

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Darren Stevens (seven) was dismissed with the combination of Franks and Will Jefferson - fielding at second slip - and so was Geraint Jones who went without scoring.

Jefferson managed to hold the catch from Stevens at second attempt and Jones edged an attempted cut to reduce his side to 85 for five in the 32nd over.

Van Jaarsveld, having lifted Ealham for six over mid-wicket, went on to play fluent strokes.

He brought up his half-century from 108 balls with his sixth boundary and promptly hit the next ball for four to extra cover off Ealham.

Mahmood's 50 was quicker, off 83 balls, and he scored more rapidly as his innings progressed.

He pulled Pattinson for four and then lofted him straight to the boundary to get to 81.

The breakthrough for Nottinghamshire came in the 62nd over when van Jaarsveld hooked Pattinson into the hands of long leg taking them to 223 for six.

Mahmood went on to bring up his hundred in style with his third six, a sweep off Graeme Swann, having faced 126 balls and hitting 14 boundaries.

Twenty overs were lost after bad light stopped play twice, first shortly before tea and again 25 minutes later.

In the third over after the resumption James Tredwell snicked Shreck behind the stumps and six overs later Mahmood's excellent innings off 160 balls came to an end when Swann had him held on the square-leg boundary.

With Yasir Arafat having been sent to hospital complaining of abdominal pain, Kent's second innings closed on 293 for nine.

Pattinson claimed 3-63 and Shreck, Franks and Swann claimed two wickets each.