The opener finished unbeaten on 114 after Rob Keogh had run out of partners to finish 116 not out
Canterbury (fourth day of four): Northamptonshire 117 & 331, Kent 222 & 227-3 - Kent win by seven wickets
Ben Compton's unbeaten 114 helped Kent to a seven-wicket victory over Northamptonshire in the LV= Insurance County Championship at Canterbury.
Compton produced a crucial stand of 167 with Jack Leaning, who made 67 not out, as Kent recovered from 60 for three to successfully chase down a target of 227, the hosts closing on 227 for 3.
Earlier Rob Keogh had scored 116 not out and Gareth Berg 56 as Northamptonshire posted 331 in their second innings, the duo sharing a stand of exactly 100 that set up an initially taut run chase. Joey Evison had Kent’s best bowling figures with 4 for 62.
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Canterbury (third day of four): Northamptonshire 117 & 400-7, Kent 222 - Northamptonshire lead by 195 runs with three seconds-innings wickets remaining
Rob Keogh hit a century as Northamptonshire clawed their way back into contention on day three of their LV= Insurance County Championship game with Kent at Canterbury.
Keogh's unbeaten 101 helped the visitors to 300 for seven at stumps, a lead of 195, thwarting Kent’s hopes of wrapping up a victory inside three days.
Hassan Azad was the next highest scorer with 51, while Gareth Berg was unbeaten on 49 when play was abandoned for the day due to bad light.
Daniel Bell-Drummond had Kent’s best bowling figures with two for 42, but it was a frustrating day for the hosts, after bowlers had dominated on days one and two.
Zak Crawley's 91 had helped Kent into a first-inning lead [Shaun Botterill/Getty Images]
Canterbury (second day of four): Northamptonshire 117 & 47-2, Kent 222 - Northamptonshire trail by 58 runs with eight second-innings wickets remaining
Zak Crawley hit 91 to leave Kent in a strong position at the end of day two in their LV= Insurance County Championship game with Northamptonshire at Canterbury.
The visitors were reduced to 47 for 2 in their second innings, still trailing by 58 at stumps.
Crawley was by some distance the top scorer in a game otherwise dominated by the bowlers.
Chris Tremain took 5 for 44 and Jack White 4 for 57 as Kent were all out for 222, while earlier Matt Quinn took 4 for 24 as Northamptonshire were bowled out for 117 in their first innings.
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Canterbury (first day of four): Northamptonshire 89-7, Kent
Kent reduced Northamptonshire to 89 for 7 on a rain-affected first day in the LV= Insurance County Championship at Canterbury.
Grant Stewart took 3 for 6 and Michael Hogan 2 for 36 as the Spitfires exploited damp and dark conditions to leave the visitors deep in the mire at the end of a truncated evening session.
Ricardo Vasconcelos was Northamptonshire's top scorer with 39, but he fell in the only over bowled after tea before play was abandoned due to bad light.
Heavy overnight rain at the St. Lawrence wiped out the morning session, but the home side were clearly the happier after winning the toss and rattling through Northamptonshire's top order during the 26 overs that were possible.
Ricardo Vasconcelos top-scored for Northamptonshire in the first innings with 39 [Shaun Botterill/Getty Images]
When play finally got underway at 2.15pm the visitors initially scored rapidly. Vasconcelos drove the first ball of the day, from Matt Quinn, for four and they cantered to 26 without loss, until Hogan trapped Hassan Azad lbw for seven in the sixth over.
In the next over Quinn sent Sam Whiteman's middle stump flying for just a single and both first-change bowlers then took wickets with their first deliveries.
Joey Evison struck with the first ball of the 12th over, getting Luke Procter caught by Ben Compton at square leg for eight while Stewart had Rob Keogh caught behind for three at the start of the 16th.
Stewart subsequently took a superb return catch to dismiss Josh Cobb for seven, clinging on to a violent drive at ankle height, before he had Lewis McManus caught behind for five.
Tea was originally scheduled for 4.10pm but with light deteriorating the session was curtailed three minutes early.
Vasconcelos fell lbw to Hogan to the fourth ball after an extended interval, leaving James Sales and Gareth Berg as the out batters on five and three respectively when play was abandoned for the day.
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