Robbie Joseph has produced some fine spells during the summer

Kent's pace bowlers put their side back in the Championship title race with a remarkable first day display against Lancashire at Liverpool.

The men from Canterbury, 13 points off top spot coming into the game, bowled out relegation-threatened Lancashire for 107, and replied with 147-5.

Their lead was down to Geraint Jones's entertaining 91 which featured 16 boundaries and occupied 88 deliveries.

The next best individual score on the day was 30 as the bowlers held sway.

Kent duo Robbie Joseph and Amjad Khan claimed figures of 3-37 from nine overs and 3-10 from nine respectively, while Ryan McLaren and Yasir Arafat each collected two wickets.

Rob Key's decision to bowl first was rewarded when Paul Horton was the first man to go, caught behind by Jones wafting at a Joseph delivery.

Two further wickets fell with the score on 22 as the innings swiftly unravelled, and Lancashire were in all sorts of problems at 67-8 when Tom Smith was caught behind off the bowling of McLaren.

Steven Croft and Gary Keedy shared the highest stand of the innings, 36 for the ninth wicket before the latter was bowled by Joseph with the score on 103. Croft was the final man to go when he was caught behind off the bowling of Arafat.

It was Lancashire's lowest Championship score since being skittled for 103 against Northamptonshire in a Division Two clash in 2005.

Makeshift opener James Tredwell fell lbw for four in the first over of the Kent innings after regular opener Joe Denly had gone down with a migraine just minutes before play began at 1300 BST.

With Denly unable to bat at all - even though he was named in the side - Kent slid to 55-3.

But the crucial partnership of the day then took place as Jones and Darren Stevens put on 78 for the fourth wicket, though neither could last until the finish.

Oliver Newby (3-50) gave Lancashire a fighting chance in a match surely set for a positive result.