Ricardo Vasconcelos and Calvin Harrison built on a strong start and finished with an unbeaten 115-run partnership on the second day in Canterbury.

Northamptonshire reached 140 for one at stumps, a deficit of 426, with Ricardo Vasconcelos unbeaten on 87 and Calvin Harrison 41 not out. Matt Quinn took the only wicket, with Luke Procter deemed to have edged behind for eight.

Daniel Bell-Drummond and Harry Finch both made centuries for Kent, but with the track resembling a bowlers’ graveyard the match looks destined to end in a draw.

Earlier Kent declared on 556 for 8, Bell-Drummond hitting 158 in a stand of 208 with Finch, who made 118. Liam Guthrie took 3 for 29, but Northants’ bowlers laboured throughout with the Kookaburra ball and Kent’s didn’t fare much better.

The visitors actually stared the day with an early wicket when Joey Evison, who was 29 not out over night, became the day’s first victim, going for 37 in the fourth over: after driving Guthrie for four through mid off, he was caught behind off the next delivery.

Bell-Drummond reached three figures by scrambling for a single off Harrison. Finch brought up his half-century in the next over when he went down the wicket to Yuzvendra Chahal and hit him for four over long on.

It was 446 for five at lunch and in the afternoon session Finch reached his sixth first-class hundred when he pulled Saif Zaib to the backward square leg boundary for four.

Bell-Drummond achieved his 150 in the 145th over, before he finally went caught behind trying to sweep Zaib.

Finch went in the next over, trying to reverse sweep Harrison and falling to a sharp one-handed grab by Justin Broad at first slip, but Kent batted on until Matt Parkinson was lbw for four trying to sweep the same bowler.

Kent declared, tea was taken and Quinn, having missed all of last season and broken down nine balls into pre-season, marked his return to the first team by getting in the seventh over: if anyone was due some luck it was Quinn but replays suggested there was daylight between bat and ball.

It was an isolated success. Vasconcelos raced to 50 from 51 balls and although Kent followed Northamptonshire’s lead yesterday in at least managing to slow the scoring rate slightly, it felt like the only way a batter would get out was by chucking their wicket away – neither did.