Denly hits ton as final warm-up match ends in a draw at Canterbury

Opener Joe Denly (pictured) made the most of his final spell in the middle as Kent drew their three-day friendly match against Loughborough MCCU at Canterbury. Batting at three, the 24 year-old took the attack to the students, cracking 12 boundaries on his way to a knock of 106. The England bat received good support from Geraint Jones (26) and Simon Cook (19) as Rob Key allowed his lower-order to have a hit in a re-jigged batting line-up. The skipper eventually declared with Kent 212 for seven.

This set Loughborough an academic victory target of 458 from 28 overs. Matt Coles and Phil Edwards were wicketless with the new ball before part-time bowlers Denly and Martin Van Jaarsveld got in on the act to reduce the university side to 60 for three when the two captains shook hands on a draw. Denly, bowling leg-spin, picked up one for eight while van Jaarsveld chipped in with one for four, with a run-out (Sam Northeast) completing the trio of wickets.

Kent travel to Trent Bridge on Thursday to begin their division one campaign against Nottinghamshire. A match preview will appear here later in the week.