Warwickshire thrash Kent to issue warning to title rivals

Oliver Hannon-Dalby took 4 for 59 in the second innings and finished with 8 for 115 in the match as Warwickshire defeated Kent by an innings and 46 runs

Canterbury (third day of four): Kent 171 & 332, Warwickshire 549-7d - Warwickshire won by an innings and 46 runs

Warwickshire have thrashed Kent by an innings and 46 runs in their LV= Insurance County Championship game at Canterbury, bowling the hosts out for 332 on day three.

Oliver Hannon-Dalby took 4 for 59 in the second innings and finished with 8 for 115 in the match, as Warwickshire issued a warning to their title rivals with an overwhelming victory.

Harry Finch made 67 and Jack Leaning 64, but the hosts were left to rue a dismal first-innings performance and remain mired in a relegation battle.

Kent began day three on 55 for 1, still 323 behind Warwickshire's first innings score of 549 for 7, with Joe Denly and Ben Compton not out on 29 and 17 respectively.

An early appeal for a catch off Compton's shoulder drew a cry of: "Are you Australia in disguise?" from the Frank Woolley Stand and although he survived that one, he became the morning's first victim in the 26th over, when he nicked Hannon-Dalby behind for 26.

^{Hannon-Dalby picked up eight wickets across the match [Alex Davidson/Getty Images]}

Denly made 45 from 105 balls before he was removed by Hannon-Dalby, caught by Michael Burgess after the ball seemed to ricochet off his pads.

Finch and Leaning batted through till rain brought an early lunch at 12.52pm. Play resumed at 2.15pm, with nine balls bowled before a second, briefer delay of 20 minutes, resulting in a cumulative loss of nine overs.

It was Kent's biggest stand of the match and worth exactly a hundred, but it ended when Leaning fell into a trap. With three fielders crowding the bat on the leg side he tried repeating a shot he'd played in Yates' previous over and this time the bowler had him caught by Jacob Bethell.

Jordan Cox lasted 17 balls before he tried to sweep Yates and was lbw for four, leaving Kent on 223 for 5 at tea.

Finch's obdurate innings came to an end when Chris Rushworth bowled him off stump with the new ball and when Henry Brookes had Joey Evison caught behind for 37, the last of Kent's defensive-minded batters had gone.

Grant Stewart decided to have some fun, whacking successive sixes off Rushworth including one that went into a third-tier balcony in the Old Dover Road flats and he hung around for 44 balls, putting on 64 with Hamid Qadri before he hit Hannon-Dalby to Glenn Maxwell at gully for 40.

Any realistic hopes Kent had of taking the game into a fourth day ended when Qadri went to the very next ball, lbw to Maxwell for 30, and the victory was confirmed when Arshdeep Singh drove Hannon-Dalby to Will Rhodes at mid on in the next over.