After the strong winds that made handling the covers too dangerous to undertake on day one, it was a relief to see the ground ready for play from the start.
Flintoff, the second son of former England all-rounder Andrew to be embarking on a career as a professional cricketer, following in the footsteps of brother Rocky, took his place in what must surely have been the youngest slip cordon ever formed in county cricket, all three slips and gully being in their teens.
They were in the game early, when Jaydn Denly at second slip dropped a straightforward chance given by Sol Budinger off the bowling of Joey Evison.
To make matters Denly left the field with illness soon afterwards, while Evison’s feelings will not have improved when Budinger casually swung an inswinger over the midwicket boundary for six.
The Kent all-rounder had his revenge soon afterwards however, when Budinger again edged to second slip and this time Flintoff held on.
Patel, however, looked in good touch from the start. The 27-year-old has struggled for consistency this season after missing the early weeks with a thumb injury, but has recently shown signs of finding the form which saw him called into an England Lions training camp, and he took full toll on the regular loose deliveries from the visiting attack.
There were plenty of testing balls too, and George Garrett produced a beauty to square up and bowl Ian Holland, but a score of 151-2 off 30 overs at lunch told its own story.
Having hit 10 boundaries in going to his half century, Patel hit another 10 in going to three figures, his second championship century of the season, shortly after lunch.
Kent were already looking down the barrel, but Patel played too soon at an Ekansh Singh delivery and got a leading edge that looped to mid-on, a maiden first-class wicket for the 19-year-old, and Hill, having registered his seventh half-century of the season, slashed a wide short ball from Michael Cohen straight to point.
When Steve Eskinazi, who never settled, went leg before to Evison, Leicestershire were in danger of wasting their flying start, but the elegant Masood was calmness personified, and he found lively support from Cox.
Together they added 161 for the sixth wicket and both seemed certain to reach three figures, but Garrett, bowling with the new ball, pushed one across Masood to find an edge which carried to slip before Grant Stewart took a fine leaping catch at mid-on to dismiss Cox off the bowling of Evison, prompting a declaration.
Report supplied by ECB Reporters’ Network, supported by Rothesay