Kent v Derbyshire day 1

Had Karl Krikken sat down last night and scripted this important match in realistic mode, he could have wished for little better than to bowl out a strong batting side on day one for 261. He might then have hoped to have got through to stumps unscathed, but after the early dismissal of Usman Khawaja, fans will have been heartened by the way in which Wayne Madsen and Wes Durston saw us through to stumps on 32-1.

Khawaja was opening because Paul Borrington sustained a suspected fractured nose in the field, though I would be surprised if that stopped the gritty young opener from batting at some point in the Derbyshire innings. We now need to bat for a day and a half, then hope that the spinners come into their own in the final innings. From the accounts I have read Khawaja was unlucky to be given out when well forward and we can live without too many of those decisions.

The bowling was again accurate and hostile, with the wickets shared out, largely between the seamers. Tim Groenewald and Tony Palladino took their combined championship haul to 92 wickets and one need look no further for reason we have sustained a promotion challenge. Meanwhile Ross Whiteley did what he had done all season and broke partnerships and he has a happy knack of doing so from balls that are not necessarily the most obviously penetrative. The dangerous Coles, who flayed us at Derby, was again undone by Wes Durston, so maybe there's been a lesson learned there.

In matches of such importance the contribution of the fielders is vital and Tom Poynton's leg side catch off Robert Key sounds pretty spectacular by any standards. After a long first season it would be understandable if Poynton's standards had dropped a little, but in both batting and glovework he seems to have improved as the summer has progressed. The early dismissal of Kent's talismanic opener after they elected to bat was a crucial wicket  and gave us an advantage that we held for the best part of the day, despite a late recovery orchestrated by Geraint Jones.

The earlier September start will be a key session tomorrow and if Madsen and Borrington can put together a stand and see off the openers, the stage will be set for the free-scoring Redfern and Whiteley to come in and do what they do best. The most encouraging thing about our batting this summer has been the collective approach to building a score, although fans will appreciate a greater contribution from the top order than has been the case of late.

Elsewhere, Hampshire are well on top against a Masters-less Essex (a much less dangerous beast) while Yorkshire clawed Glamorgan back well after the Welsh county had a highly encouraging morning. I would like to think that if Derbyshire got to 198-3 tomorrow they would end up with more than 272.

Tomorrow, I hope that they prove it.