Smith's 166 spearheads Kent attack

<preform>Kent 405-7<br>Sussex</preform>

Ed Smith hit a magnificent 166 to lead Kent to 405 for 7 in their county championship match with Sussex at Canterbury. Having decided to make first use of a pitch which seemed distinctly in favour of batsmen, Kent's innings began badly when David Fulton played down the wrong line to James Kirtley and was judged lbw with only 15 on the scoreboard.

Ed Smith hit a magnificent 166 to lead Kent to 405 for 7 in their county championship match with Sussex at Canterbury. Having decided to make first use of a pitch which seemed distinctly in favour of batsmen, Kent's innings began badly when David Fulton played down the wrong line to James Kirtley and was judged lbw with only 15 on the scoreboard.

But a superb stand for the next wicket took the total to 212. Smith had struck five boundaries in reaching 31 when he was dropped at gully by Murray Goodwin off Kirtley and that was the only chance he was to offer.

His 50 came from 67 balls with eight boundaries and he took Kent to 100 in 25 overs and his score to 73 as he drove Mushtaq Ahmed to the cover boundary.

Smith reached his second championship hundred of the season just after lunch as he drove Mohammad Akram to cover for his 16th boundary.

Alex Loudon took nearly three hours to score his 50 and then drove Luke Wright, playing his first championship match for the county, to extra cover for his seventh boundary. But in repeating the shot, was out next ball edging to slip.

Sussex struck again three runs later, as Kirtley, in his first spell after lunch, trapped Michael Bevan lbw for a duck.

A partnership of 70 between Smith and Matthew Walker took Kent to 285 when Sussex claimed two wickets in two balls for the second time in the day.

Smith, after a brilliant innings in which 96 runs came from boundaries, pulled Akram to square leg where Goodwin held the catch.

Akram had Matthew Dennington lbw with his next ball and after a 44-run stand for the sixth wicket Niall O'Brien was run out well short of his crease.

Walker continued to score steadily and reached 50 from 99 balls and by stumps he was on 83 from 154 balls.