Derbyshire were closing in on a huge victory against Kent when bad light forced a premature end to day three of their County Championship match at Canterbury.

Kent were 135-5 in their seconds innings, still 291 behind, after Luis Reece ripped out their top order with 4-33.

That came after Jack Morley took 5-99 as the visitors dismissed Kent for 271 in the first innings, a lead of 427.

Ekansh Singh and Ben Dawkins both hit career-best scores of 71 and 61 respectively, but when the former was out Kent’s last four wickets went for just nine runs.

Derbyshire enforced the follow-on and Reece reduced them to 20-3 before Joey Evison and Ben Compton offered some resistance. Reece eventually got Evison for 52, but Compton was unbeaten on 55 when the light failed.

The lights were on when play began on time, with Kent on 117-2.

Morley, who removed nightwatcher Michael Cohen with the final ball on day two, struck again in his first full over of the morning, getting Jaydn Denly lbw for a five-ball duck.

Ekansh was given a life when Wayne Madsen couldn’t cling on to a slip catch after he flashed at Ben Aitchison, but Dawkins was strangled as soon as Zak Chappell returned from the Nackington Road End.

Ollie Curtiss got his first first-class runs, but Morley had him brilliantly caught by Martin Andersson at midwicket for 14, leaving Kent on 217-5 at lunch.

Morley claimed his fifth in style by clinging on to a sharp return catch from Ekansh at the second attempt and in doing so he became the first Derbyshire spinner to claim five wickets at Canterbury since Les Townsend in 1931.

There was raucous applause from The Nackington Road End when Joey Evison hit Harry Came for successive boundaries to earn Kent a solitary bonus point, but he then slashed Reece to Aneurin Donald at first slip, before Aitchison got his second strangle of the day when Harry Finch flicked him behind for 14.

Corey Flintoff went for a second-ball duck, hitting Aitchison straight to the sub fielder Nick Potts at square leg and Matt Parkinson lasted four balls before he edged Reece to Wayne Madsen, who took an outstanding one-handed grab at second slip.

There was worse to come as Reece bowled Dawkins for nought with the second ball of the second innings and then had Denly caught behind for four in his next over.

Reece got his third of the innings when Ekansh was caught behind for four, but Compton and Evison steadied things.

The latter was dropped by Amrit Basra off Chappell when he was on 28 in the final over before tea, at which point Kent were 61-3. He was dropped again on 52 when he drove Dal to midwicket, but Donald put him down, apparently while celebrating a catch he hadn’t actually taken.

Donald’s embarrassment was fleeting as Evison chipped Reece to Andersson in the next over and Dal then bowled Curtiss for four but Compton swept Morley for four to pass 50 and bad light stopped play at 17:39 BST, with eight overs remaining.

Match report supplied by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay