County Championship: Warwickshire's bowlers stun Kent before Will Rhodes ton

Centurion Will Rhodes shared a fourth century stand of the season with fellow opener Dom Sibley

Warwickshire dominated day one of their Division Two title decider against Kent at Edgbaston.

After losing the toss, the Bears bowled out Kent for just 167, with pacemen Keith Barker, Chris Wright and Olly Stone all taking three wickets.

Will Rhodes then hit a superb unbeaten hundred - his fourth Championship century this summer for Warwickshire.

Supported by Dom Sibley's 37 not out, Rhodes got to the close on 102 as the hosts reached 148-0 to trail by 19.

Whichever of the two already-promoted sides gains more points from their final match will end the season as Division Two champions.

Only England Test squad selection Joe Denly, who will be on tour with Stone to Sri Lanka next month, offered any early support for Kent with 30.

But, after he edged Stone to second slip and an inswinging yorker from Barker trapped captain Sam Billings lbw, the wickets carried on clattering as the Bears became the only county this summer to claim maximum bowling points in every game.

Kent could come close to that on day two but it did not look very likely on the evidence of a final session in which the attack-minded Rhodes and the more subdued Sibley almost cancelled out the Kent score in just 37 overs with their fourth century stand of 2018.

In his first season at Edgbaston, Rhodes will resume on the second morning needing 36 more runs to reach 1,000 Championship runs for the season. The only Division Two batsman to reach that mark so far is his Bears team-mate Ian Bell.

Warwickshire bowler Olly Stone told BBC WM:

"With 10:30 starts, the pitch is always going to have a bit in it and so when we lost the toss and were told we were bowling we thought there might be something there for us if we bowled well.

"Chris Wright and Keith Barker bowled really well up front. It definitely makes easier for me when the lads have made inroads up front. The boys have done it all year so it's great to see it continue.

"Then for Will Rhodes and Dom Sibley to back it up with an opening stand like that was top-drawer. They've just got better and better this season and have put us in a great position."

Kent head coach Matt Walker:

"We thought it was a great toss to win. It's a good wicket but we chose to play our worst cricket of the season on the first day of the last game of the season.

"It was unlike us. We have been brilliant all year but that wasn't a Kent performance that I recognise this season. We didn't put any partnerships of substance together and then their openers showed what a really good wicket it is.

"We lacked intensity with the bat. We got off to a sticky start and never really got a hold in the game. There was not a lot of movement off the surface. It swung a bit, but they bowled very well and we didn't manage to cope with it."