Coles shines with bat and ball at Worcester
Matt Coles top-scored with the bat before taking two late wickets as 13 batsmen fell on day one of the Specsavers County Championship promotion battle at New Road.
Unbeaten second-placed Kent were dismissed for 260 before responding with the ball as Worcestershire closed on 95-3 with Coles (2) and Darren Stevens striking before stumps.
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The third-ranked hosts may have feared the worse after Kent skipper Sam Northeast won the toss on a good batting wicket in the blazing heat.
Skipper Joe Leach and 19-year-old Josh Tongue in particular impressed with the ball and Kent, despite lower order resistance from Matt Coles and Adam Rouse, would have been disappointed to be bowled out in 73.1 overs.
All of their batsmen except openers Daniel Bell-Drummond and Sean Dickson got into double figures but no-one went past 50.
Leach bowled an inspired opening spell and sent back openers Bell-Drummond and Dickson during an initial burst of 7-3-7-2.
Bell-Drummond (1) nicked through to Daryl Mitchell at first slip and then Dickson (7) tried to work the ball on the leg side and the ball flicked his pads and bounced onto the stumps.
Joe Denly (12) drove Ed Barnard straight to Brett D’Oliveira at point and then Tongue bowled a fiery spell after lunch which accounted for Northeast (42) and Will Gidman (12).
In between Joe Weatherley wafted at a wide Leach and was caught behind and then Stevens (39) flat batted John Hastings straight into the hands of deep extra cover.
Kent were then 139-7 but resistance came at last from Coles and Rouse who opted to counter-attack in adding 79 in 16 overs.
It needed the return of Tongue to break the stand shortly before tea as Rouse (34) provided Mitchell with a third catch and then Coles (47) played back to Moeen and was lbw.
Leach finished with 3-42 to take his season’s wicket tally to 36 and Tongue, in his first season of senior cricket, 3-56 to move onto 24 victims.
The wickets were soon tumbling when Worcestershire launched their reply and D’Oliveira failed to trouble the scorers before he was pouched by Coles at second slip off Stevens.
Moeen was ultra aggressive in his approach with nine fours in his 37 off just 16 balls, a mixture of glorious cover drives and edges which just eluded the slip cordon.
But then he fell for the three-card trick and was caught at deep mid wicket off Coles who then had opener Mitchell taken at third slip.
Joe Clarke (34*) received good support from George Rhodes (16*), in his first senior appearance of the season during an unbroken stand of 47.
Kent all-rounder Matt Coles, who top-scored with 47 and picked up two wickets, said: “There was a little bit there for the bowlers as we proved this evening.
“I think 260 is a challenging total. Moeen Ali then got away a little bit at the start of their innings. He came out all guns blazing.
“But it was a good to get that wicket and a couple more and we are in a decent position going into tomorrow.
“If we stick to our basics tomorrow, then there is no reason why we can’t have a lead going into the second innings.
“We’ve got to bowl as straight as possible, don’t give them too much room to free the hands. If we can be relentless with the line and length tomorrow for as long as we can, I’m sure we will get the rewards.”