Honours Even Despite Attacking Intent

Match report from day four of Hampshire's LV= County Championship match against Kent at Tunbridge Wells

KENT v Hampshire
LV= County Championship
Day Four: Saturday 9 June 2012
The Neville, Tunbridge Wells

Summary: Match Drawn
Hampshire: 303-8 & Forfeit
Kent: Forfeit and 220-6
Scorecard
Concurrent Table

Kent Team
Northeast, Key*, Harmison, Nash, Powell, Stevens, Jones†, Coles, Tredwell, Davies, Shreck
Hampshire Team
Adams*, Dawson, Carberry, Katich, Shafayat, Ervine, Bates†, Mascarenhas, Ali, Tomlinson, Balcombe 

Attacking intent from both teams and two innings forfeitures set up an unlikely chance of a result which, sadly, never came on day four of this massively rain-affected LV= County Championship match between Kent and Hampshire at Tunbridge Wells.

The two teams shook hands around 6pm with the hosts on 220-6 after the visitors had removed Darren Stevens (28) and Matt Coles (18) – the host’s two best chances of chasing down a decent total – both of them promoted up the order to perform “pinch-hitter” roles.

Earlier, Liam Dawson had finished a thoroughly professional innings unbeaten on 134 – a best score of the season for him – as Hampshire registered 303-8 and picked up three bonus points to Kent’s two.

The result, and accompanying six points in total, means Hampshire sit fifth in the table going into the second half of the season. The Championship now takes a pause for a month for the Friends Life t20. Hampshire are next in competitive action, in that tournament, on Thursday, away to South Coast rivals Sussex.

Whenever rain ruins so much of a First Class match the fear is that the weather will be the only winner with so much catching up for the teams to do. So it is always to be applauded when the two captains can come to an agreement and give a fourth day crowd something cheer – anyone who sat frustrated as league-leaders Derbyshire declined to do so at The Ageas Bowl in May will attest to that.

And so it was that Hampshire came out looking to “finish the job” with the bat. But it was a difficult balancing act; score too quickly and they risked making the chase unattractive to their hosts or, worse, giving them too many overs to chase it down. Similarly, score too slowly and they would risk not having enough on the board by the time a declaration was required.

In the end, a target of around 300 in 70 overs (a rate of 4.3 / over) always looked like a fair shout and the Hants batsmen pretty much hit that nail on the head, tempering some lusty blows from Dimitri Mascarenhas (20) and Kabir Ali (30) - who stabbed Matt Coles through extra cover for six – with some patient running between the wickets.

Dawson, interestingly, has scored a First Class 100 on five occasions in his career; having done so, he’s been out just once, giving him an incredible post-100 average of 665! And so it was here, the all-rounder finishing nearly 100 better off than in any other match so far this season to justify the management’s decision to take some pressure off him by moving him down the order.

The pressure on the Hants attack, however, was on immediately from the re-start as openers Rob Key and Sam Northeast started by scoring at a rate of 5.3 to take their team to lunch on 37-0.

After the break, however, the runs dried up with Mascarenhas, in particular, proving stingy – his opening spell of seven overs going for just 4 runs in total! And the pressure told; two overs after replacing Dimi, Ali had the home skipper out lbw for 35. And, when his replacement, Ben Harmison (11) was also out – caught at short mid-wicket by Jimmy Adams off Mascarenhas (himself, just back into the attack to replace Ali) – with the hosts still under the 100 mark, a change in tactic was deemed necessary.

In came Stevens and, having taken a few overs to set himself, hit two consecutive fours off Mascarenhas, then drove David Balcombe back over his head for six immediately after the break for tea. Alas, though his ambition was to be applauded it was also risky and he was caught hitting Mascarenhas (2-45) to Michael Carberry in the deep going for the extravagant; Kent 147-3 and requiring 157 from 22 overs (a run-rate of more than seven).

At that point the hosts started to lose regular wickets and 10 overs later they were six down and only just on 200. A further ten overs of ultra-defensive batting later the two captains saw a result wasn’t to be reached and called time.
 

Catch Up

Preview:	Balcombe Returns to do Battle with Old Friends
Day One:	Hampshire Spirits Dampened at Kent's Royal Celebration
Day Two:	Hants Pair Rebuild in the Rain
Day Three:	Dawson Century Leads the Way

Words: Simon Vincent
Images: LMI Photography

Back to news