KENT’S officials and players were left hanging on the decision of an ECB pitch panel after a further 18 wickets fell on the second day of their Mote Festival Week match with Gloucestershire.

ECB pitch liaison officer Tony Pigott, the former Sussex and England seamer, convened the panel and called up former Surrey groundsman Harry Brind and former Lancashire skipper David Hughes for their expertise.

The trio will interview match umpires, both captains and coaches and groundsman Tony Saunders this evening and, if unhappy with the overview and the explanations behind a green pitch, may opt to dock Kent championship points.

The musings of the panel tended to distract from another cut and thrust day of cricket as Kent, having dismissed the visitors for 183, eked out a meagre first innings lead of 21 in reaching 204 all out in 67 overs.

It was a pitch for bottom handed batsman. Smothered with red pock-marks where the seam has nipped into the damp surface, the ball was seemingly slow off the pitch and only those capable of bludgeoning drives looked at ease.

Fittingly, it was Darren Stevens who top-scored for Kent with a pugnacious 35 as he and the equally strong Andrew Hall (25) posted the only half-century stand of the Kent innings.

Assisted by a seamer-friendly surface, Gloucestershire’s Mark Hardinges claimed five for 51 – his first ever five-wicket haul in championship cricket.

Despite sunnier conditions in late afternoon Kent’s attack looked equally threatening when Gloucestershire started their second innings just before 5pm.

No sooner had the visitors good the deficit than they found themselves three wickets down.

Phil Weston went for a fourth ball duck playing outside an Amjad Khan off-cutter and his opening partner Stephen Adshead fenced at a Hall leg-cutter to edge to his Kent counterpart Niall O’Brien.

First innings top scorer Matt Windows, another burly bottom-handed player, flourished briefly hitting three fours on his 15 before his instinctive push at a lifting ball from Simon Cook to pick out Justin Kemp at second slip.

The tall South African then pouched an even better effort five overs later to account for Alex Gidman by diving low to his left at slip as the batsman attempted to drive at Stevens, who appears on course for career best figures having taken three for 13 so far.

Gloucestershire made it through to the close on 79 for seven for a slender lead of 58, leaving Kent favourites to wrap up a three-day win on Friday.

SCORECARD

Kent first innings

W P C Weston b Hall 5

S J Adshead c Patel b Cook 2

M G N Windows lbw b Khan 39

C G Taylor lbw b Cook 0

A P R Gidman b Stevens 2

J A Pearson c O’Brien b Kemp 13

M A Hardinges c O’Brien b Khan 27

U D U Chandana c Kemp b Hall 7

I D Fisher c O’Brien b Cook 39

C G Greenidge lbw b Khan 25

S P Kirby not out 4

Extras 20

Total 183 all out after 60.3 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-5, 2-25, 3-25, 4-48, 5-54, 6-83, 7-92, 8-128, 9-170.

Bowling: Khan 11.3-2-31-3, Hall 16-4-47-2, Cook 19-6-54-3, Stevens 8-4-16-1, Patel 1-0-4-0, Kemp 5-2-25-1.

Kent first innings

D P Fulton c Adshead b Hardinges 21

J L Denly b Kirby 4

M van Jaarsveld c Fisher b Greenidge 10

M J Walker b Hardinges 13

D I Stevens c&b Gidman 35

J Kemp c Adshead b Hardinges 0

A J Hall c Weston b Gidman 25

N J O’Brien c Taylor b Hardinges 13

S J Cook st Adshead b Fisher 23

M M Patel c Adshead b Hardinges 29

A Khan not out 11

Extras 20

Total 204 all out after 67 overs

Fall of wicket: 1-11, 2-43, 3-47, 4-71, 5-75, 6-125, 7-130, 8-157, 9-176.

Bowling: Kirby 14-3-42-1, Greenidge 14-4-36-1, Hardinges 18-2-51-5, Gidman 9-2-28-2, Chandana 7-0-19-0, Fisher 5-1-15-1.

Gloucestershire second innings

W P C Weston b Khan 0

S J Adshead c O’Brien b Hall 3

M G N Windows c Kemp b Cook 15

C G Taylor c O’Brien b Khan 18

A P R Gidman c Kemp b Stevens 13

J A Pearson c Fulton b Stevens 0

M A Hardinges not out 15

U D U Chandana c O’Brien b Stevens 1

I D Fisher not out 11

Extras 3

Total 79 for seven

Fall of wicket: 1-0, 2-11, 3-26, 4-48, 5-52, 6-52, 7-56

Bowling: Khan 9-2-21-2, Hall 8-2-34-1, Cook 3-0-11-1, Stevens 8-2-13-3, Kemp 1-1-0-0.