Kent's torrid Championship season reached a new low with a thumping innings defeat to Northants inside two-and-a-half days to bring a premature end to the Canterbury Week festivities.

The tone was set in the opening session on Tuesday when Daniel Bell-Drummond fell to just the fourh ball of the match, on his 22nd birthday, to leave Kent 0/1.

Fellow opener Rob Key (16) did last 35 balls but 40/1 became 41/4 as Sam Northeast (0) and Ben Harmison (1) followed Key back to the pavilion.

In-form Joe Denly hit nine fours in a stoic 50 but was caught leg before to become one of Olly Stone's four victims (4-59).

Sam Billings was the next to go, for nought, though he was unconvinced by the LBW decision, and though Darren Stevens (34) helped guide his side into three figures, it was Calum Haggett (49, including 10 fours) who stole the show late on as James Tredwell, Matt Coles and Matt Hunn made just nine runs combined as the hosts eventually posted just 167 in 51 overs.

Northants - who had won just two of their previous 27 games - led by the end of the first day, with David Murphy (42) and Ben Duckett amassing a century opening stand, though Murphy and Alex Wakely had fallen by stumps.

Rob Keogh was caught and bowled by Coles in the opening over but Duckett cruised to 145 on the second morning before being trapped by Tredwell, whose 3-59 were exactly half as expensive as Coles (3-118), though the paceman did account for Zaib and Stone in successive deliveries to leave the visitors 272/7.

However as so often with Kent, the opposition tail were allowed to wag and Azharullah made a career best 58 not out and Ben Sanderson a run-a-ball 42 for another lifetime best, as they reached 398 for a lead of 231.

A tall order heightened even more when Bell-Drummond chopped on for 26 to leave Kent 150 runs behind at the close of the second day, however any hopes of Key and Denly rescuing their side ended early on Thursday when Denly fell to Azharullah (33).

Northeast (6) and Harmison (3) again went cheaply and when Key became the second of Sanderson's 4-44 the game looked up at 121/5.

Stevens (15) and Haggett (0) fell in successive balls to Stone, and though Tredwell survived the hat-trick ball, he fell soon after for seven, and it was only Billings' lusty 43 and a 20-run blitz from Coles at the death which got the hosts even close to making Northants bat again.

In the end Hunn was bowled by Chambers mid-way through the eighth session to leave Kent 208 all-out and complete a 23-point haul for the visitors, which was 20 more than their hosts.

The only plus is the result affords Kent a day's rest ahead of the Royal London One-Day Cup clash with Lancashire, which rounds off the 164th Canterbury Cricket Week on Saturday (10.30am).