Kent's bid to claim the CricInfo Championship runners-up slot moved a step closer as they dominated the opening day of their match with reigning champions Surrey in sunny Canterbury.

Surrey, hampered by the loss of five first-choice stars through injury and Test calls, were dismissed for 255 having been reduced to 95 for six after electing to bat first in seemingly ideal conditions.

Kent replied late in the day through in-form openers David Fulton and Rob Key, who scored 18 apiece without due alarm to see the hosts through to the close on 43 without loss after 16 overs.

The first session had undoubtedly belonged to Kent's seamers and their leading wicket-taker Martin Saggers in particular, who claimed his 50th Championship wicket of the campaign in breaking a stubborn, if unspectacular opening stand of 31 between Michael Carberry and Ian Ward.

Saggers sent back Carberry and Nadeem Shahid in the space of four balls in the 11th over of the day, then struck again in his next over to have Adam Hollioake caught at slip by Fulton, for the second of his three catches.

Alistair Brown failed to trouble the scorers to make it 42 for four, but Ward teamed up with Ben Hollioake to all but double the score before Hollioake became Martin McCague's first Championship wicket of the summer.

Ward also went before lunch, chipping a catch to square leg, leaving the hosts in a good mood at the interval.

To their credit, Surrey re-grouped in the second session as top-scorer Martin Bicknell (78) featured in stands of 64 and 74 with Jonathan Batty and Ian Salisbury.

But the tail fell away once Andrew Symonds trapped Bicknell leg before, to give the Australian three for 35 while Saggers polished off the job with the scalp of Saqlain Mushtaq to record figures of four for 58.

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