KEVIN PIETERSEN blazed his maiden Hampshire hundred while the England selectors decided the squad for the first Test against Bangladesh.

Pietersen's 125 could not have been better timed, coming as it did while Duncan Fletcher, David Graveney and Geoff Miller discussed the make-up of the team for the first Test of the summer at Lord's on May 26.

Warwickshire star Ian Bell is still expected to make the England starting line-up ahead of Pietersen but Hampshire's winter signing gave the selectors a headache by reaching his hundred in just 83 balls.

The squad will be announced tomorrow morning but the second quickest hundred of the season - only Shane Warne's 72-ball first innings ton has been scored at a faster rate - will have done Pietersen no harm.

To add insult to injury for the Kent attack, his 20th first-class hundred came against the county he may well have joined had Hampshire not snapped him up.

Kent and Surrey were the favourites to sign him from Notts before Hampshire made their interest known back in October.

Pietersen, whose mum Penny was born in Canterbury, hit slow left armer Min Patel over the boundary rope with two successive 'slog-sweeps' on the way to reaching his half-century off 51 balls.

Then he accelerated, lifting a Patel full toss for another six as he came within sight of his first first-class hundred since August.

He was dropped just once. When he was on 87 he gifted a straightforward chance to Amjad Khan at long leg after top-edging as he attempted to hook Martin Saggers in the first over after lunch.

He wasted no time in reaching three figures after that.

In the next over he drove Kent seamer Simon Cook for three of his ten fours in succession before raising both hands aloft in the direction of the Hampshire balcony.

He was eventually out for a 111-ball 125, caught by Rob Key at deep mid-wicket having earlier put on 149 for the fifth wicket with Sean Ervine (57).

Simon Katich had added three runs to his overnight 125 before he was stumped down the leg side by Geraint Jones after coming down the track to Patel.

Katich was dismissed during an economical Kent spell of 34 balls without a Hampshire run, but that was the calm before the storm provided by Pietersen's pyrotechnics.

Brown (54) managed to reach his second half-century in three innings before he was beaten in the flight by Patel and Tom Burrows hooked to long leg, having looked good for his 13.

Shane Warne continued where he left off in the first innings, making an unbeaten 26 from 15 balls - including a beautifully lofted six over long off - before he declared on 461-9.

It set Kent 485 to win and Hampshire kept warm by fielding in beanie hats as the home side reached 121-2 at the close.

An unplayable delivery from Chris Tremlett accounted for David Fulton (74), who had hooked the previous ball through the hands of 12th man Billy Taylor for six.

And then Pietersen confirmed that it was his day with a sensational, low right-handed catch at slip as he dived full stretch to hand Warne the wicket of Rob Key.