Kent appear to be doing everything in their power to avoid a fourth successive defeat against their oldest rivals.

They switched the match from Tunbridge Wells - the traditional venue for these cross-border skirmishes - because they were worried Mushtaq Ahmed might spin them to defeat again after he took nine wickets when Sussex won there last June.

And instead of playing on the side of the Canterbury square which normally accommodates Championship fixtures, they have prepared a flat, slow pitch further along to provide further insurance against what would be an eighth successive defeat in all competitions.

So far their cautious approach is paying dividends. David Fulton won a crucial toss and by the close Kent were in a strong position on 405-7.

Sussex, meanwhile, were left ruing the reprieve they gave stand-in opener Ed Smith in the 12th over when the new ball was darting around under sultry skies.

Smith was on 31 when he slashed James Kirtley to gully, but the normally reliable Murray Goodwin shelled what was a fairly straightforward chance at waist-height as he moved to his right.

They may have had to travel a bit further into Kent to see this year's local derby but the sizeable contingent of Sussex supporters at the St Lawrence Ground must have sensed, like Goodwin, that a batsman of Smith's quality would make the most of his let-off in ideal batting conditions.

By the time Goodwin gratefully clung on to a top-edged pull off Mohammad Akram more than four hours later, Smith had added another 135 runs in moving to the highest score of what has been, by last year's standards, a lean summer for the tall right-hander.

A slow pitch gave him time to adjust and punish bowlers who dropped short. He finished with 24 fours and his 166 was made off 208 balls in a shade over four-and-a-half hours.

When Smith was putting on 197 in 45 overs for the second wicket with Alex Loudon it looked like being a long, hot day of toil for the Sussex attack.

Kirtley, who was preparing along with Smith to make his Test debut just a year ago, had broken through with the new ball when Fulton played all round a good-length ball that shaped back into him.

Loudon has little experience of batting at No. 3 and it showed early on, particularly against Mushtaq.

He grew in confidence either side of lunch, however, and had just collected his seventh boundary to move to a half-century when he was caught at slip aiming an ambitious drive in Luke Wright's fourth over.

That represented a decent start for Wright on his Championship debut and things were definitely looking up for Sussex when Kirtley, the pick of the Sussex seamers throughout the first day, was brought back into the attack and immediately pinned Michael Bevan for a golden duck in the next over.

After two prolific seasons at Hove, Sussex were all too aware of the Australian's run-scoring capabilities. They will not have celebrated an opposition wicket with as much unconfined joy all season.

Immediately after Smith's departure, Akram struck again when Matthew Dennington was defeated by a big nip-backer for another first-baller.

Dennington's departure exposed a lengthy Kent tail but left-hander Matthew Walker steadied his side in a sixth wicket stand of 62 with wicketkeeper Niall O'Brien.

Mushtaq, who wheeled away for 32 overs in sweltering heat, got overdue reward when he flattened Min Patel's stump in a gruelling final session of 44 overs after a brief shower meant an early tea.

But Amjad Khan played with increasing confidence in an eighth-wicket stand of 43 which will resume today with Walker 17 short of what would be a well deserved second Championship hundred of the season.