Muttiah Muralitharan justified Lancashire's decision to fly him back from Sri Lanka for their last Cricinfo Championship game of the season against Kent by taking five wickets which should be enough to keep them in the First Division.

Murali claimed five for 130, taking his tally of wickets for the season to exactly 50 in only seven matches, as Lancashire secured maximum bowling points by dismissing Kent for 377.

It meant that the Red Rose county will be safe providing they do not lose and Northants fail to beat Somerset at Taunton - which looks a safe bet after Somerset piled up a huge score in their first innings.

Lancashire, who started the match with a five-point lead over Northants, had been frustrated by the rain for the first two days, and Kent's opener Robert Key then added to their worries when play finally resumed on the third morning.

Key extended his overnight 42 to a career best 132, from 195 balls with two sixes and 19 fours, until he was stumped off Chris Schofield just before lunch.

It was the 22-year-old's fourth first-class century of the season and took him past 1,000 Championship runs.

But after lunch Murali had Mark Ealham lbw, Matthew Fleming caught by Schofield at silly point and bowled Min Patel to complete his fourth five-wicket haul of the year.

Paul Nixon was left unbeaten on 87 for Kent, his best score of the season.

Lancashire then reached 21 for one in reply, with Martin Saggers bowling John Crawley off the inside edge, before bad light stopped play more than an hour before the scheduled close.