Sidebottom impresses for Notts

Ryan Sidebottom appeals for the wicket of Darren Stevens © Getty Images

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Ryan Sidebottom showed his bowling was in perfect working order ahead of the first Test with New Zealand with a deadly opening spell in the LV County Championship Division One match against Kent.

The Nottinghamshire star took three wickets in 19 balls to leave Kent in serious trouble at 33 for four in reply to the hosts’ first innings total of 202.

Watched by England chairman of selectors Geoff Miller, the left-armer found extravagant swing with his first delivery, which crashed into Joe Denly’s middle stump, and then removed Matt Walker and Darren Stevens in his third over.

Earlier, the Kent seam attack had taken advantage of some poor shots to dismiss the early championship leaders cheaply, with Stevens taking 3-42 and Martin Saggers 3-54.

Ball dominated the bat from the first over on a gloriously sunny day, reinforcing Trent Bridge’s reputation as a swing bowler’s paradise.

Nottinghamshire opener Matt Wood was dropped off Saggers in the second over of the day and it took until the sixth over for the hosts to play a shot with conviction.

Will Jefferson drove Saggers through the covers for four, but another attempted drive only ended up in the hands of Justin Kemp at first slip.

Mark Wagh gets up on his toes to hit off the back foot in his 42

Wood struggled to 16 before he was undone by a Saggers delivery which left him for another catch to Kemp.

And Mark Wagh survived two chances in the slip cordon before he departed for 42, caught by a diving Geraint Jones off Robbie Joseph.

Adam Voges dug in with Samit Patel as the scoring rate dropped, with just nine boundaries scored in the afternoon session.

The Western Australian had made 43 when he drove the medium-pace of Stevens straight to Martin van Jaarsveld at short extra cover.

With Rob Key on England Lions duty, van Jaarsveld was skippering Kent and saw a lower-order collapse as the last five Notts wickets fell for 59.

All 10 victims were caught and most of the batsmen will have been unhappy with their shot selection, with a number of loose drives.

Sidebottom had seen at close quarters how much the ball was moving through the air and made the point with the first ball of the Kent innings, with a prodigious inswinger piercing Denly’s defences.

Charlie Shreck got in on the act to dismiss van Jaarsveld leg before in the next over, Walker was caught behind off Sidebottom and Stevens was lbw three balls later padding up to another swinging delivery.