James Franklin demonstrated why Gloucestershire are keen to retain his services for next season by keeping their faint hopes of promotion from Division Two of the County Championship alive.

The New Zealander claimed season's best figures of 5-30 to help bowl Kent out for 264 at Bristol on the opening day. Gloucestershire were 21-0 in reply when bad light brought an early close.

Franklin has scored 800 runs at an average of 44 and has taken 31 wickets in Division Two this season.

Gloucestershire CCC chief executive Tom Richardson said: "We are very keen to have James back here as our overseas player next year and we are close to achieving that."

A trickier task will be moving up to second place in the table by the end of the season on Saturday night.

Gloucestershire must beat the newly-crowned Division Two champions, accrue sufficient bonus points and then hope that Derbyshire and Essex draw their game, while Northamptonshire and Glamorgan both fail to win.

After home skipper Alex Gidman won the toss, Franklin and Jon Lewis (4-50) worked their way through the Kent batting.

Lewis had Sam Northeast driving to third slip for seven before a rain delay wiped out the rest of the morning session.

After lunch, Rob Key reached his 50 by slashing Lewis over gully but, without addition, he edged behind one that seamed off the pitch from the same bowler.

Franklin began his spree by trapping Darren Stevens leg before for a duck. The batsman played no shot and made clear his displeasure with umpire Michael Gough's decision.

Wicketkeeper Geraint Jones feasted on some short stuff from Ian Saxelby before edging Franklin behind for 44.

The Kiwi then swung one back into James Hockley, who also offered only his pad, before Saxelby came good, having Justin Kemp caught in the slips for 21.

Gloucestershire should have wrapped up Kent quickly at 139-6 on a green pitch. But the score reached 181 before James Tredwell fended Lewis to Kadeer Ali at short leg.

Youngster Alex Blake battled for a career-best 47 before slashing Lewis into the gully, while Simon Cook proved the scourge of Gloucestershire again.

The seamer took 5-22 and scored 40 not out in Kent's win over the Glo'sters at Beckenham in July and yesterday he thumped 10 fours and two sixes in making 60 not out from 39 balls.

Cook may have been agricultural but he looked in no trouble and added 34 in six overs for the ninth wicket with Matthew Coles until the 19-year-old was bowled by Franklin. Former England paceman Amjad Khan was LBW to a yorker-length delivery for a duck before taking the new ball.

Openers Kadeer and Will Porterfield began the reply confidently, with the former driving Amjad through cover for four before the umpires called the players off.

Gloucestershire CCC will require close to full batting bonus points to win promotion, so they have brought the Nevil Road boundary in by some 10 yards in a bid to make 400.

But when they come to bowl again they will have to quicken their over-rate or they could drop points that may prove crucial.