Adams and Vince Centuries Put Hampshire In Control

Jimmy Adams and James Vince both hit centuries to put Hampshire in a commanding position at the end of Day One in their Specsavers County Championship clash against Surrey at the Kia Oval.

Vince (104) batted brilliantly in an innings that consisted of 19 boundaries, as the Hampshire batsman took the game away from the opposition with some excellent stroke play.

Jimmy Adams (144) anchored the innings impressively and also looked in excellent touch, and despite being dismissed on the final ball of the day, his knock put Hampshire in the ascendency as they ended the day on 361-4.

George Bailey won the toss and elected to bat first, with wicket-keeper batsman Lewis McManus opening the batting alongside Jimmy Adams in the absence of Liam Dawson.

The pair started the game in a cautious manner with the overhead conditions favouring the bowlers, before Surrey made the breakthrough in the tenth over of the game.

McManus (13) was bowled by a fierce, in-swinging yorker by Sam Curran (1-53) to reduce the visitors to 24-1.

Adams was joined by Rilee Rossouw, and both batsmen started to punish any loose deliveries, with the left-handers playing an array of shots as Hampshire looked to take control.

Rossouw (28) had smashed five boundaries, but just as he was looking set, the South African pushed at a length delivery and edged it to Scott Borthwick to hand Tom Curran (2-71) his first wicket.

Adams was remaining observant though, and the opening batsman started to be rewarded for his persistence as the visitors moved into three figures.

Vince played the more aggressive role in the partnership, playing an array of impressive drives as the Hampshire batsman took his stand with Adams past 50.

He then brought up his fifty off just 71 balls in a knock that included ten boundaries as the visitors moved onto a good position at 150-2 in the 46th over.

Vince continued his charge against the Surrey attack, regularly finding the boundary and in contrast Adams played more patient, yet determined innings.

He brought up his half-century off 137 balls shortly after as Hampshire made good progress in the Surrey sunshine.

The pair then brought up their 100 partnership with another crunching boundary through the off-side as they reached their milestone off just 25 overs.

Both Vince and Adams looked comfortable, and they increased the scoring rate, smashing 16 runs off the 55^th over to take Hampshire past the 200.

They followed that up by hitting a further 31 runs in three overs to move the partnership beyond 150 runs.

 Vince deservedly brought up his century in a superb innings full of aggression and flair, with the last 50 runs coming at a rate of a run a ball.

His innings eventually came to an end when he was caught behind looking to cut a short and wide ball from Tom Curran as his stand with Adams was worth 161 runs to leave Hampshire on 232-3.

Adams never looked like he was going to get dismissed, and he moved to his century off 188 balls shortly into the evening session as a reward for the excellent batting display as Hampshire moved past 250.

Roles were reversed as Hampshire captain George Bailey (61*) was more watchful at the crease, but the Australian hit four boundaries and a maximum in his stay at the crease.

Hampshire edged past 300 and Adams moved past his previous best score against Surrey, which was 110, before the hosts chose took the second new ball of the day. After re-assessing the conditions, Bailey and Adams continued to score freely as the partnership eased into three figures.

Bailey survived a few scares late on, but moved to his half-century with back-to-back boundaries swiftly before Hampshire progressed beyond 350, picking up their fourth bonus batting point.

However, all the plaudits were for Adams, who was bowled by Amar Virdi (1-84) in the final over of the day as his 262-ball stay at the crease came to an end.

Hampshire will look to build on the platform their batsmen have laid and post a formidable total on Day Two, which begins tomorrow morning at 11am.