Ervine Century Helps Hampshire Start Strongly At Taunton

Sean Ervine registered his second Specsavers County Championship century of the summer to boost Hampshire's tally to 281-6 on day one against Somerset, an impressive feat on a Taunton pitch which favours the spinner.

The Zimbabwean all-rounder spent over five hours finely-crafting his ton, facing 200 balls to steer Hampshire back on track after a testing morning saw the visitors lose experienced top order batsmen, cut to 92-4 before lunch.

Ervine's hundred partnership with South African all-rounder Ryan McLaren (61) embodied Hampshire's resolve, before Lewis McManus (41) and Gareth Berg (12) made further progress with the bat before close.

With James Vince returning from international duty and Sean Ervine recovering from an ankle injury, Hampshire’s hopes of securing back-to-back wins in the Specsavers County Championship were significantly boosted.

Hampshire were pegged back by Somerset though, losing four wickets before lunch on day one after opting to bat first on a turning pitch at Taunton, which would increasingly favour spinners as the match developed.

Will Smith (16) looked solid, after Jimmy Adams was bowled by Lewis Gregory in the fourth over, and Adam Wheater (21) seemed in good shape with the bat as he hit 21 off 36 balls but both Hampshire batsmen were deceived by the spin of Roelof van der Merwe.

Ervine was the stand-out performer for the visitors on day one, batting at three and facing over 100 balls in the morning session to supply some stability and move Hants to 93-4 after Vince (0) lost his wicket to Jack Leach.

The experienced all-rounder reached his fifty after lunch, hitting five fours off 98 balls, and combined well with McLaren to put Hampshire in a more commanding position during a progressive afternoon session.

The two left-handers had completely nullified Somerset’s spinners by mid-afternoon and were batting with real freedom as Ervine drove back-to-back fours to help take the partnership to 82 at tea.

The evening session saw McLaren reach fifty for the sixth time in the County Championship this summer and surpass 5,000 first-class runs, affirming his ability as a genuine all-rounder for Hampshire.

Ervine then secured a second first-class ton of his benefit year, hitting ten boundaries off 200 balls, as the visitors began to assert their dominance with the bat, responding brilliantly to a difficult start to the day.  

After Ervine was trapped at lbw by Jack Leach, McManus and Berg secured a second batting point as the visitors passed 50 and finished day one against Somerset on 281-6 - a score made all the more satisfying by the state of play at lunchtime.