Kent will require one more batting bonus point on Thursday to clinch the County Championship Division Two title having dominated play against Leicestershire in Canterbury.

Having lost the opening day to rain, Kent made up for lost time by skittling Leicestershire out for 148 inside the first two sessions of the match and then racing into a 57-run lead by stumps having hit 205 for four in a 39-over final session.

Kent's seam attack enjoyed bowling under leaden skies when, after winning the toss at 10.15am, they dismissed the visitors inside 56 overs as Simon Cook bagged five for 44, his third five-wicket return of the summer, and Amjad Khan four for 46.

Only three Foxes batsmen limped into double figures and only their skipper Boeta Dippenaar posted a 50 from 108 balls and reached 1,000 first-class runs for the season in the process.

Rob Key's side bagged four wickets in the morning session and polished the job off after lunch as Leicestershire batted like a side for whom the season's end cannot come quickly enough.

Khan sent back the openers Matt Boyce (8) - who chopped on after a leaden-footed push drive - and then left-hander Paul Nixon (5) who nudged one knee-high to second slip after following one that went across his body.

Ryan McLaren, playing his first game in six weeks after recovering from a side strain, snared Josh Cobb (8) leg before, on the stroke of lunch, Cook claimed the first of his haul by nipping one back down the St Lawrence slope to account for James Taylor (6).

The Leicestershire collapse gathered momentum after lunch when only Dippenaar, James Benning (16) and last man Andrew Harris, with a cameo 22 from 18 balls, offered more than token resistance.

Kent's slip and keeper cordon held all their chances to account for five of the visiting order while Dippenaar shouldered arms to a Cook off-cutter that nipped into the right-hander to brush the outside of off stump.

Cook took his season's tally to 33 wickets by having Wayne White snaffled at third slip and by 3.26pm Kent were batting.

They lost skipper Key (12) eight overs into the reply when he sliced to cover point and then Sam Northeast (21) chopped on when trying to force the pace against White.

That brought together Geraint Jones and Martin van Jaarsveld for a fluent third-wicket stand worth 78 in 11 overs during which Benning conceded 55 from only five overs of medium pace.

The fun ended when Jones, having raced to 89 from 69 balls with 16 fours and a six, nicked an attempted run down to his counterpart Nixon with Kent already five runs ahead overall.

Van Jaarsveld, who finished unbeaten on 63, featured in a 50 stand with Darren Stevens (18) that ended three overs from the close when Stevens chopped on against Jigar Naik.