Tredwell and Mahmood at the double as Middlesex lose four by stumps

Middlesex v Kent LV County Championship Division 2, Day 2 Uxbridge.
By Mark Pennell
KENT remain on course for the second division Championship title having seemingly taken complete control of their four-day clash with struggling Middlesex in Uxbridge.
Needing 500 simply to avoid the follow-on, Middlesex stumbled in at stumps to reach the mid-point of the game on 109 for four after Azhar Mahmood and James Tredwell bagged two wickets apiece in Thursday“s final session.
Off-spinner Tredwell, the leading wicket-taker in the division with 62 scalps costing only 24 runs apiece, got the ball rolling by trapping Adam London (7) leg before in the 10th over of their reply to Kent“s mammoth 652 for seven declared.
Nick Compton (30) had his off stump plucked out by a Mahmood leg-cutter then, seven overs later, left-hander Dawid Malan was bamboozled by one from Tredwell that fizzed on to him from around the wicket.
Rookie Dan Housego (20) then played late on a full length ball from Mahmood that sent him packing leg before to make it 72 for four, and by stumps they still trailed by 543 runs.
Earlier, Justin Kemp“s second century of the summer and a career-best equalling 208 by Darren Stevens helped Kent amass their second highest championship total of all time in reaching 652 for seven by the time Rob Key declared at 2.30pm.
Kemp and Stevens posted a Kent record fifth-wicket stand worth 228 in 48 overs beating the county“s previous best set by Brian Luckhurst and Asif Iqbal at Canterbury in 1971.
Resuming on their first day total of 390 for four, Kent“s fifth-wicket pairing extended their stand beyond lunch as Kemp raised their double-century stand with a pulled six into the car park off leg-spinner Malan that also took Kemp to his own ton from 141 balls with 15 fours to go with the six.
Stevens reached his second career double hundred from 249 balls and with 34 fours but, having set the highest score on the ground and when level on his career-best scored against Glamorgan in Canterbury four years ago, he chopped on when trying to cut against Malan to make it 577 for five.
Kemp and Tredwell (19) took Kent into the 600s before Tredwell“s mis-timed drive against Shaun Udal was easily held at cover by his former Kent team-mate Neil Dexter but not before Kent beat their previous best total against Middlesex of 603 for six declared scored at St Lawrence in 2006.
Azhar Mahmood should have gone for three when Compton downed a simple chance at mid-off against the bowling of Udal, but Compton soon made amends by pocketing another chance at long-on to send Mahmood packing for 29 and leave Kemp unbeaten on 133.
Photo by AR Pics