| Kent
captain Robert Key bolstered his hopes of an England
recall on Monday by scoring his third hundred against
New Zealand as the Black Caps struggled on the opening
day of their initial first-class tour match at Canterbury.
Key,
who four years ago scored a hundred in each innings
of Kent's nine-wicket win over New Zealand, ended the
first day of this three-day game with an unbeaten 178
against his name in a total of 324 for one.
Runs
came from the other end too, with James Tredwell 123
not out.
New
Zealand, whose captain and star spinner Daniel Vettori
is one of five members of their squad currently taking
part in an Indian domestic Twenty20 tournament, begin
a three-Test series against England at Lord's on May
15.
The
28-year-old Key, who played the last of his 15 Tests
three years ago, completed his century in 170 balls
with 16 fours.
"This
sort of kick-started my summer a few years ago, I managed
to play a Test match and do pretty well, so it is sort
of a good omen really," said Key, who in 2004 followed
up with a double hundred against West Indies at Lord's.
"Sometimes
you have teams as a batter and fortunately for me at
the moment the New Zealanders seem to cop it whenever
I go to the wicket.
"Circumstances
present themselves don't they really? We wouldn't be
talking about me having the chance to play for England
again this year if the boys had done really well out
in Sri Lanka and New Zealand.
"If
they had had a gun time of it, where they were winning
games of cricket and all the batters were getting runs,
there would be no need to start looking at the fringe
players as much."
He
added: "The day you don't think you're good enough
to get back into the England side is a sad day."
Tredwell,
whose score was only his second first-class hundred,
reached three figures off 198 balls with 17 boundaries.
New
Zealand teenage quick Tim Southee, who took five wickets
on his Test debut against England at Napier in March,
returned figures Monday of one for 49 off 15 overs although
it needed a fine catch by James Marshall at backward
point to help him dismiss Joe Denly for 12.
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