Hampshire draw with Somerset after final day curtailed by rain

May 12 2010

Hampshire vs. Somerset
County Championship Division One
Monday 10th – Thursday 13th May 2010, The Rose Bowl

Summary: Day Four
Match drawn
Hampshire: 512 & 37-2
Somerset: 524

Hampshire have avoided defeat for the first time in a competitive match this season after drawing with Somerset in the LV= County Championship at The Rose Bowl.

Rangana Herath and David Griffiths both claimed four wickets as the hosts eventually bowled Somerset out for 524 in their first innings. Charl Willoughby then claimed two early wickets but play on Day 4 was curtailed by persistent drizzle with Hampshire just 25 ahead.

Play began on the fourth morning in glorious sunshine and Jos Buttler continued where he left off on day three with an aesthetic straight drive off Griffiths which raised Somerset’s 450.

Damien Wright brought up the 50 partnership by blazing Griffiths through point as the two right-handers continued to punish any wayward deliveries. The Victorian then pulled Griffiths in front of square as the visitors moved to 483 for 6 with draw looking almost certain.

After an hour’s play Wright went through to a well-crafted 50 with a swept six off Herath, this also secured the 100 partnership.

Wright’s innings came to an end on 51 when he went for another big shot but only succeeded in getting a leading edge to Sean Ervine at mid-off; this gave Liam Dawson his first wicket of the season.

Amidst the demure passage of play the 500 came up almost unnoticed after 155 overs. Ben Phillips didn’t last long as he chopped a Herath ball back onto his stumps, the score now 517 for 8. Buttler’s outstanding knock was ended on the stroke of lunch when he was caught by Dawson off Herath with the score now 524 for 9.

Somerset’s innings was ended on 524 just one ball after lunch when Willoughby was bowled by Herath for a duck, the Sri Lankan joining Griffiths with four wickets.  

Click on the image above to see highlights of Thursday's play

Willoughby put this disappointment behind him to have Jimmy Adams caught at first slip by Marcus Trescothick and Michael Carberry caught behind with beautiful away swingers to leave Hampshire tottering on 2 for 2- still 10 runs behind.

Dawson and Neil McKenzie calmed Hampshire nerves and eked the hosts to 18 for 2, a lead of six. McKenzie hit Hampshire’s first boundary in the 15th over with a well timed clip off his legs and Dawson hit his in the next over, smashing Trego to the square-leg fence.

The clouds ominously surrounded the ground and just before 3pm, rain started to fall and the players went off for an early tea with Hampshire 37 for 2. They never came back and the match was abandoned as a draw at 3.45pm.  

Total points scored: Hampshire 7 Somerset 8

Neil Evans 
 

Day Three

Summary: Day Three
Hampshire lead by 71 runs
Hampshire: 512
Somerset: 441 for 6
 

Another sunny morning at The Rose Bowl; this one brimful of optimism after yesterday’s performance, and the Hampshire faithful didn’t have long to wait for the breakthrough. David Griffiths had bowled with pace and accuracy from the off, but in his 4th over he uprooted Zander de Bruyn’s off stump leaving Somerset on 122 for 3.

After 11 overs Nic Pothas decided it was time for a double bowling change and Rangana Herath and Dominic Cork replaced James Tomlinson and Griffiths. Somerset’s 150 was brought up when James Hildreth cut Cork to the third man boundary. The Somerset batsmen concentrated on putting away the less risky balls, with Hildreth in particular taking a liking for Herath and hitting 10 off one over.

Twenty minutes before lunch Liam Dawson was introduced into the attack and bowled very neatly, his first over costing just 1 run. Working in tandem with Sean Ervine the run rate was reduced to a miserly one an over, but this didn’t stop Hildreth reaching his fifty – off just 63 balls – with a sweep shot off Dawson.

Somerset’s 200 came up in the 32nd over of the day and the visitors went into lunch on 206 for 3, with Nick Compton on 46 and Hildreth on 55.

The afternoon session started dramatically as first Hildreth was dropped at slip by McKenzie off Dawson and then three balls later, Compton was run out for 49 attempting a second run, the score now 212 for 4. For those who enjoy the subtleties for orthodox left-arm spin, the start of the session offered compelling viewing with Herath and Dawson teasing the batsman with changes of pace and flight. They kept a lid on the scoring with only singles being conceded.

This period of parsimony was broken when Hildreth swept Dawson to the mid-wicket fence and Jos Buttler smashed him over extra-cover in the same over.  Pace soon returned in the form of Griffiths and Tomlinson as Pothas took the new ball, hoping for some serious inroads into the visitors’ batting. Hildreth raised the 50 partnership with an exquisite cover drive off Tomlinson, the score now 265 for 4 with Hildreth nearing a classy century.

His 13th first-class ton duly arrived with an emphatic pull shot off Ervine, this boundary also brought up Somerset’s 300 and third batting bonus point. Hampshire were left to rue dropping the combative right-hander on 57, a potentially significant moment in the match.

Buttler was impressing with some fluent off-side stroke play and he brought up the 100 partnership as the visitors went to tea on 311 for 4.  

Tomlinson and Griffiths got proceedings underway after tea and the man from the Isle of Wight claimed his third wicket when Hildreth cut a short delivery straight to his bowling partner at third man- Somerset now 317 for 5.

Buttler went through to an impressive maiden half-century off 124 balls and the visitors were now just 30 runs shy of avoiding the follow-on. The belligerent Peter Trego joined Buttler at the crease and announced himself by bludgeoning a couple boundaries off Herath. Buttler then went one better by slamming Dawson towards the media centre for six, the score now 354 for 5. He also nudged a single off Herath to take the visitors to 363 for 5, thus avoiding the follow-on.

Trego reached 35 when he top-edged an attempted pull through to Pothas to give the persevering Griffiths his fourth wicket, Griffiths proving once again that he is slippery and quicker than he looks.

Damien Wright replaced Trego and quickly raised the 400 with a quick single. 19 year old Buttler remained composed throughout even when he moved into the nineties. He turned his maiden 50 into a hundred in just his fourth first-class match when he cut his England U19 team mate James Vince to the third-man boundary.

Somerset reached stumps on 441 for 6 with a draw looking the most likely result, but cricket is a strange game. 

Bonus points acquired: Hampshire 4 Somerset: 5

Match report by Jane Cable and Neil Evans

Pictures by Neil Marshall
 

Summary: Day Two
Hampshire lead by 408 runs
Hampshire: 512
Somerset: 104-2

Hampshire’s fight back continued with Sean Ervine leading from the front, although it was Rangana Herath who set the tone with a four to the fine leg boundary in the fourth over.

It took eight overs for the batsmen to reach 300 and take the third bonus point with six overs to spare. In the eleventh Ervine brought up his hundred with a boundary driven to extra cover. It had taken him 169 balls and overall had been a well constructed innings, using the conditions and the bowling wisely.

The only wicket of the morning was Herath caught behind off Ben Phillips for 15, but he had been at the crease for almost an hour and his partnership with Ervine had earned almost 50 runs.

While Somerset captain Marcus Trescothick was off the field with a migraine his bowlers struggled for a breakthrough and, in the process, seemed to lose a great deal of heart. Ervine and James Tomlinson put away the bad balls – mainly for four – and just before lunch Ervine made his first 150 for Hampshire. The session ended with the hosts on 392 for 8, Ervine 151 and Tomlinson 18.
 

Ervine celebrates his century

The festival of fours continued after lunch and Ervine even added a six to bring up Hampshire’s 400 in the third over. He restricted himself to a four to celebrate the hundred partnership, though, as did Tomlinson to celebrate passing his own career best first class score of 35. In the end the number 10 was out for 42, with Ervine 11 short of his double hundred and Hampshire on 459 for 9.

But David Griffiths proved solid in defence and despite Trescothick moving his field in and out in an attempt to control the strike, Ervine passed first his 200 (with a four to backward point), then his personal best of 208 (with a six over the bowler’s head), and finally Hampshire’s 500 (a circumspect single to long on).

It was Trescothick turning to part time bowler Nick Compton that brought Hampshire’s dominance to an end when Griffiths sliced his second delivery to the Somerset captain at mid wicket. Ervine was 237 not out and Somerset were left to chase a first innings total of 512.
 

Tomlinson now has career best with ball and bat against Somerset

The Somerset reply started briskly with opening pair Trescothick and Arul Suppiah taking every scoring opportunity Dominic Cork and Tomlinson gave them. But once the bowlers settled down the runs dried up, the first 15 overs yielding only 32.

The first Somerset wicket to fall was Trescothick (41) in the 21st over when he was trapped lbw by a dead straight ball from Griffiths. The visitors were 60 for 1 and added a further 17 runs by the time Herath was brought into the attack in the 26th. He struck straight away when Suppiah spooned a catch to Cork at mid wicket for 27.

But the day ended quietly with Somerset 104 for 2, Compton on 17 and Zander de Bruyn on 11. Herath was the pick of Hampshire’s bowlers with figures of 6-4-7-1.
 

Words by Jane Cable
Pictures by Neil Marshall 

Day One

Summary: Day One
Hampshire: 281-7
 

Hampshire won the toss and elected to bat on a sunny morning at The Rose Bowl. However the morning’s optimism was not to last when Charl Willoughby trapped Jimmy Adams lbw for 1 in the third over.

Liam Dawson, in for Chris Benham, came in at three and although staunch in defence cut a beautiful four to long on off Damien Wright. But shortly afterwards Michael Carberry, trying to cut a Willoughby delivery, found himself caught behind by England Under 19 Jos Buttler for 8.

With Hampshire on 20 for 2 Dawson and Neil McKenzie played cautiously and the second boundary of the day didn’t come until the 19th over, again Dawson off Wright, but not before he had been dropped by Hildreth on 8.

During the second hour of play the scoring loosened a little, with both Dawson and McKenzie picking off fours when they were available and looking assured. But it was not to last; in the over before lunch Dawson (28) was lbw attempting to sweep a Mike Munday delivery and Hampshire finished the session on 64 for 3.

Nic Pothas played a masterful innings

McKenzie and James Vince were at the crease half an hour after lunch when the latter brought up Hampshire’s hundred with a boundary to point. Somerset’s re-introduction of Ben Phillips into the attack slowed the scoring but it was Willoughby at the Northern End who got the breakthrough when Vince fenced one behind for 26 to leave Hampshire on 113 for 4.

The bowling change also brought a run of four maiden overs, and even after the sequence was broken the scoring shots were mainly singles and it took Hampshire 10 overs to add 10 runs to their total. A bowling change brought Somerset’s fifth wicket when McKenzie played on to Peter Trego for 48.

At tea Hampshire were 161 for 5 with Pothas on 25 and Ervine on 20. But the pair took to Somerset’s slower bowlers and Pothas reached his fifty after taking 2 sixes off Munday and 1 off Arul Suppiah. Even so it had taken him 80 balls, but no-one was complaining as he and Ervine had managed to stem the flow of wickets.

Another six off Suppiah – this time from Ervine – brought up Hampshire’s 200 and their first bonus point. A few overs later he made his own fifty and the partnership reached 100. Understandably Somerset took the new ball as soon as it was available, with the score on 241 for 5.

Ervine crafting one of his many boundaries

After a couple of circumspect overs of taking stock Hampshire’s scoring restarted, mainly in elegant fours which used the pace of the new ball. The 150 partnership came in the 89th over, but having reached this landmark – and earned a second bonus point in the process – the batsmen closed up as Willoughby and Wright bowled a series of maidens.

The day’s drama was not over. With just two overs to go Pothas miscued a pull shot that spiralled into Munday’s hands as he came in to mid wicket. He had scored 87 runs off 137 balls and his fine partnership with Ervine had at least given Hampshire a chance in this game.

In the final over Cork edged Phillips behind to Marcus Trescothick at first slip. Hampshire ended the day on 281 for 7, with Ervine 75 not out.

Words by Jane Cable
Pictures by Neil Marshall

This season we will be providing you with live updates of matches on Twitter and Facebook. You can keep up with all the action as it happens by following Hampshire Cricket on Twitter (http://twitter.com/hantscricket) or why not become a Facebook fan by clicking here.

Or better still, come down and support the boys; book tickets for this match by clicking here.