Bailey Century Helps Hampshire Build On Opening Day

George Bailey led from the front to record his opening first-class century for Hampshire on day one of his side's Specsavers County Championship fixture against Lancashire at Emirates Old Trafford.

The Hampshire captain made 127 and hit 17 of the 187 balls he received to the boundary. Even more significantly he shared four fifty-plus partnerships to enable his side to recover from 125-5 and reach 351-8 when the players eventually returned to the pavilion at the end of the opening day.

Even more encouragingly from a Hampshire perspective Kyle Abbott (76*) remains unbeaten, having batted with excellent good sense in his attacking style and the right-hander now has an opportunity to strengthen his team’s position on the second morning and overtake his career-best score of 80.

After winning the toss and electing to bat, Hampshire began patiently, reaching 30-0 in the opening ten overs.

However, the loss of three wickets in the space of as many overs, including the scalp of the dangerous Rilee Rossouw (4), saw the hosts gain the early initiative.

Bailey and James Vince (22) helped steady things before lunch, the duo batting patiently to ensure Lancashire made no further breakthroughs in the second hour of the session prior to lunch. 

Lancashire’s bowlers made further in-roads following the interval though, claiming three more wickets in the afternoon session, but the home-side's attack were prevented from making further breakthroughs by Bailey, who was 94 not out at tea.

The relative respectability of Hampshire’s total was explained not only by Bailey’s skill but also by the obduracy of his partners. 

The Hampshire skipper shared a stand of 69 for the fourth wicket with Vince and another of 52 for the sixth wicket with Lewis McManus, and he defied the Lancashire attack on a steamy afternoon when the bowlers frequently found it difficult to control the swinging ball, as Hampshire reached 202-6 at tea.

In the evening session Bailey took his valuable seventh-wicket stand with Gareth Berg (27) to 55 before latter was trapped LBW, but that wicket only brought Abbott to the crease and it thereby heralded the best period of the day for the away-side.

The pair added 83 in just 78 minutes and battled brilliantly to accumulate consistently with minimal risk, with Bailey bringing up his superb century during that time.

The 34-year-old gave Jimmy Anderson his first wicket of the day when his attempted cut only bottom-edged the ball into his stumps. By then, though, Hampshire were 314-8 and that position was strengthened by Abbott and Brad Taylor (18*) before the close.

All six Lancashire bowlers took wickets with Jarvis (2-59)  and Procter (2-49) being the most successful members of an attack which rather lost its discipline when put under pressure by Abbott’s uninhibited hitting as he ensured his side finished in the ascendancy on the opening day.