CANTERBURY: Pakistan´s bowlers got some overs under their belts as Kentcaptain Joe Denly made an attractive century on the final day of theirtour-opener at Canterbury on Tuesday.
Given both Sunday and Monday´s play in this four-day fixture had beenwashed out without a ball bowled, a draw was always the likeliest result.
And Kent were 209 for four in reply to Pakistan´s first-innings 168 when,with no prospect for a win for either side, the players shook hands notlong before the scheduled close of 6:00pm local time (1700 GMT).
Denly was 113 not out.
Together with opener Sean Dickson (74) he put on 160 for the second wicket,after the pair came together at one for one after the early loss of DanielBell-Drummond on Saturday.
Their partnership of 127 was a new Kent record for the second wicketagainst Pakistan, surpassing the 106 shared by Charles Rowe and ChrisTavare at Canterbury back in 1978.
There was no play before lunch on Tuesday after the ground was flooded by ahuge downpour on Monday.
But, after extensive work by the ground staff, the match resumed at 2:00pmlocal time (1300 GMT) under sunny and blue skies.
Kent were then 39 for one, with Dickson 24 not out and former Englandbatsman Denly unbeaten on 12.
Denly was the more fluent of the pair early on Tuesday, cover-driving anelegant four off Mohammad Amir.
The Kent skipper went to his fifty in style with a straight six offleg-spinner Shadab Khan.
Denly, who played alongside Amir for the Karachi Kings in the recentedition of the Twenty20 Pakistan Super League, reached the landmark in 90balls including six fours and two sixes.
South Africa-born Dickson brought up his fifty in 123 balls when he pulledHasan Ali for a well-struck four.
But when Dickson was lbw to Shadab it sparked a flurry of wickets.
Kent´s 161 for two became 174 for three when the unfortunate Alex Blake hadhis stumps shattered by a late-swinging yorker from left-arm quick Amir –a delivery that would have accounted for many better batsmen.
Shadad, getting some grip and turn after switching to the Nackington RoadEnd, then bowled Zak Crawley for a duck to leave Kent 175 for four.
But Denly was still there and two superb cover-driven fours in the space ofthree Amir deliveries saw him to a 169 ball-century that included 13boundaries and three sixes.
Pakistan next face Northamptonshire in another four-day fixture startingFriday before providing the opposition for Ireland´s inaugural Test, inMalahide, from May 11-15.
They then play England in a two-Test series at Lord´s (May 24-28) andHeadingley (June 1-5). – APP/AFP