ANDY Flintoff owed Lancashire a few runs at Canterbury today.

The all-rounder produced an impressive bowling stint on the first day of the Championship match against Kent, but blotted his copybook by dropping a slip chance late in the day.

Lancashire have already been made to pay, with Martin Saggers going on to add 96 for the ninth wicket with Paul Nixon and that denied John Crawley one of the most satisfying days of his spell as Red Rose captain.

Crawley surprised everyone by choosing to bowl on a glorious day despite the absence of his front-line seamers Peter Martin and Glen Chapple, yet John Wood, Muttiah Muralitharan and Joe Scuderi combined to reduce Kent to 205-8 before Nixon and Saggers staged a late recovery.

Wood, making his first Championship appearance since his move from Durham, claimed two of the first three wickets, and would have had a third if Flintoff had caught Saggers.

Muralitharan picked up three wickets on his farewell appearance, including David Fulton caught down the leg-side by Warren Hegg after the Kent opener had become the first player to pass 1,000 first class runs for the season with a battling 65.

Scuderi found extravagant out-swing from the Pavilion End to have Mark Ealham and Matthew Fleming caught behind.

Then Crawley gambled, taking off Murali after a spell of 21-8-37-3, and calling back his makeshift opening pair of Wood and Mike Smethurst.

It nearly paid off with Wood finding Saggers's outside edge in his first over back, but Flintoff could not cling on, and Saggers went on to play the supporting role as Nixon in particular punished Lancashire with a 109-ball half century including seven fours and a flicked six off Muralitharan.