If Yorkshire were thinking that gaining promotion back to the top tier of the LV= County Championship would be a formality, they can think again.

The White Rose endured a tough opening day of their division two campaign against Kent at Headingley yesterday, with the visitors posting a commanding 345-5 from 96 overs after Rob Key elected to bat.

Key's classy 153-ball 97 underpinned his side's effort, which was also boosted by half-centuries for new signings Scott Newman and Brendan Nash, their left-handed West Indian overseas player who made 67.

Yorkshire, who left out Adam Lyth and Steve Patterson from their original 13-man squad, were off colour for the majority, enjoying their best spell through the afternoon when they picked up three of the five wickets.

Ryan Sidebottom, Adil Rashid (2-65 from 22 overs) and Ajmal Shahzad all struck, while skipper Andrew Gale ran out Key with a smart piece of work from mid-off.

Gale said: "It's the first day of the season. Ideally you want to have a great day, but it hasn't gone to plan. By no means is it the end of the world, though.

"I want the lads to come back, hold their heads high and show what they can do. There's a long time left in this game, the first of 16 matches."

Key and Newman (64), on loan from Middlesex, added 141 for the first wicket - and they reached 50 within an over of each other during the morning. Key's came in 27th over and Newman's in the 28th.

They took advantage as Yorkshire strayed in line and length in chilly conditions on a pitch more suited to batsmen than bowlers.

But then Sidebottom and Shahzad set the tone for a much improved afternoon session just after the break as they put a stranglehold on the scoring rate.

Sidebottom uprooted Newman's middle stump with a quick yorker before Gale ran out Key and Rashid's leg-spin forced Ben Harmison (45) to flash at a drive and edge to Gary Ballance at slip in the last over before tea.

Things suddenly looked a lot healthier despite the score still being 239-3 in the 64th.

But Nash was the main protagonist in wrestling back the initiative.

He had faced 97 balls before he fell to a stunning one-handed catch at second slip from Anthony McGrath as close approached.

Nash fended at a ball outside off-stump from Shahzad, who was delighted to see McGrath dive low to his right and hold on, ending a fourth-wicket stand of 71 with Michael Powell.

Thankfully from Yorkshire's point of view, an earlier drop from Rashid at third slip off Shahzad only handed Nash an extra four runs.

Rashid then atoned for his error with his second wicket, that of Powell trapped lbw in the penultimate over of the day.

"We've still got a bit of work to do with the ball, but it's a good pitch - and we can bat well on it too," added Gale.