14-04-2024, 09:23
Vitality County Championship Division One, Utilita Bowl (day two)
Hampshire: 367: Dawson 86, Prest 85; Lyon 3-110
Lancashire: 233-4: Jennings 85*, Wells 55
Hampshire (4 pts) lead Lancashire (3pts) by 134 runs
DAY 1
Hampshire edged day one of the Vitality County Championship clash against Lancashire at the Utilita Bowl, with Tom Prest top scoring with 85 - whilst Nathan Lyon opened his account for the Red Rose.
Prest was one of four half-century makers for the hosts – with Nick Gubbins, James Vince and Liam Dawson also reaching the milestone as Hampshire totted up 305 for six in front of their highest first-day-of-the-season crowd from over a decade.
Nathan Lyon picked up his first two wickets for Lancashire during a mammoth 32-over day which yielded two for 97.
Skipper Vince won the toss and chose to bat first, giving debutant Ali Orr an immediate chance to impress the Hampshire supporters after his winter move from Sussex.
His collaboration with new opening partner Fletcha Middleton may need some work after the latter was run out in the ninth over by a George Balderson direct hit after a miscommunication.
Orr departed four overs later when Tom Bailey cut him in two with a wicked in-jagger to be caught behind, but from there, Hampshire found more fluency and built partnerships in overcast conditions.
Vince had come off a winter of seemingly endless white ball cricket, taking him from Abu Dhabi to Australia, Dubai to Pakistan.
SCORECARD
He ended last season’s Championship campaign – one where he become Hampshire’s first batter to 1,000 first-class runs since 2016 – with 56 and began the new campaign in identical fettle.
It was a look down and you missed it half-century, coming up in 62 balls but with hardly a shot in anger. It obviously included a cover drive but otherwise kept the ball on a string to ease his side from danger in an 84-run stand with Gubbins, taking the score away from the worrying 26 for two.
Gubbins, who had scored twin centuries on Lancashire’s previous trip to Utilita Bowl, unfurled his typically aesthetic yet steady knock to provide the foil for Vince before helping Prest lay the foundations for his innings.
Australian spinner Lyon had been due to play for Hampshire in 2020 before Covid prevented him from arriving. His maiden first-class outing on what would have been his home ground saw him strike in his seventh over as Vince tamely turned to leg-slip.
Lyon was given the lone front-line spinner furrow, with England left-armer Tom Hartley left out having played in the rain-affected draw against Surrey. The 36-year-old also lured Gubbins into a drive to edge behind three balls after reaching a 112-run 50 but the most intriguing passage of the day was Lyon’s battle with 21-year-old Prest.
It began with a sharp chance at short-leg, which was followed by a maiden over where every ball landed on the same spot, before Prest reposted with a pair of reverse sweeps. The battle would conclude with 33 runs and 34 dots in 51 balls – including the day’s only maximum on the slog sweep.
Prest is one to watch this season after his maiden century in the penultimate fixture of last season, where he took down Simon Harmer in style.
His 76-ball fifty oozed quality and underlined his tag but fell short of a century when he gloved a sweep to slip, three balls after Lyon had dropped a difficult chance on the dive. It ended a 93-run alliance with Dawson.
Ben Brown fell soon after when Will Williams secured an edge to third slip with the second new ball but Dawson made it a quartet of fifty-makers with an unbeaten 61 – although was dropped on 51 before the close.
DAY 2
Keaton Jennings struck his first Vitality County Championship half-century of the season as his Lancashire side put in a strong showing on day two against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl.
He totted up 85 with only one dropped catch as a blemish in an otherwise authoritative innings, with his opening partner reaching 55.
Lancashire ended the day on 233 for four, 134 runs behind Hampshire’s first innings total on a placid Ageas Bowl pitch.
Having bowled Hampshire out for what felt like an about-par 367, Wells and Jennings made hay in good batting conditions.
Mohammad Abbas’ battle with Wells was intriguing, with the Pakistan fast bowler sending down 16 challenging dot balls before the batter could manoeuvre himself off strike.
And from that point, the former Sussex opener slowly put himself on top of the home side’s bowling attack to rush towards his first half-century of the season.
He found straight driving particularly profitable as he needed just 65 balls to reach the milestone – the 68th fifty of his career.
Wells fell to end an 87-run partnership, of which he had notched up 55 when he clipped Abbas to Tom Prest at short midwicket – in doing so becoming the fifth batter to 50 but not 100.
Jennings was far less aggressive in his approach but never looked in too much danger as the Kookaburra ball quickly went soft.
His main approach to the lack of pace in the pitch by batting further and further out his crease, with Lancashire’s general tactic of hitting down the ground, in opposition to Hampshire’s square domination.
Jennings was dropped at point on 36 by Nick Gubbins, who lost his trousers in the process, before slowly closing in on 57th first-class half-century – which eventually arrived in 122 balls.
Josh Bohannon made 30 out of 38 with Bohannon before chopping James Fuller onto his own stumps, after a big build-up of pressure from the Pavilion End – started by Kyle Abbott and continued by Fuller.
Jennings then teamed up with George Balderson in an 86-run stand which appeared to be never ending and provide the backdrop for a first innings lead.
But Balderson held out to deep midwicket for 38 before Tom Bruce was brilliantly caught at first slip by Liam Dawson to give Holland two wickets in two balls to turn the momentum.
George Bell narrowly avoided edging the hat-trick ball before surviving to the close with Jennings.
Earlier, Hampshire added 62 runs to their overnight score as they extended their first innings by an hour and a half, with three batting points pocketed.
Dawson had gone to bed on 61 having begun his season in the sort of form that 2023 was remembered for, and continued to tick along with Ian Holland and James Fuller in 38 and 45 run partnerships.
Baring a little scamper to reach 350 in plenty of time – which included Dawson pulling Will Williams for a maximum – there was hardly any deviation from a placid tempo.
Holland fell leg before to Williams before Fuller edged a drive off Luke Wells to a helmeted Keaton Jennings at first slip, while Dawson fell for an innings-high 86 by a smart catch behind off Tom Bailey. It meant none of Hampshire’s four fifty makers were able to convert to three figures.
Nathan Lyon completed the innings when Kyle Abbott was caught at long on by Jennings – the Australian ending with three for 110 from a backbreaking 38.1 overs.
From then on in, Lancashire bedded in and made the most of a pitch and ball that was suited for patient long-form batting.
Hampshire: 367: Dawson 86, Prest 85; Lyon 3-110
Lancashire: 233-4: Jennings 85*, Wells 55
Hampshire (4 pts) lead Lancashire (3pts) by 134 runs
DAY 1
Hampshire edged day one of the Vitality County Championship clash against Lancashire at the Utilita Bowl, with Tom Prest top scoring with 85 - whilst Nathan Lyon opened his account for the Red Rose.
Prest was one of four half-century makers for the hosts – with Nick Gubbins, James Vince and Liam Dawson also reaching the milestone as Hampshire totted up 305 for six in front of their highest first-day-of-the-season crowd from over a decade.
Nathan Lyon picked up his first two wickets for Lancashire during a mammoth 32-over day which yielded two for 97.
Skipper Vince won the toss and chose to bat first, giving debutant Ali Orr an immediate chance to impress the Hampshire supporters after his winter move from Sussex.
His collaboration with new opening partner Fletcha Middleton may need some work after the latter was run out in the ninth over by a George Balderson direct hit after a miscommunication.
Orr departed four overs later when Tom Bailey cut him in two with a wicked in-jagger to be caught behind, but from there, Hampshire found more fluency and built partnerships in overcast conditions.
Vince had come off a winter of seemingly endless white ball cricket, taking him from Abu Dhabi to Australia, Dubai to Pakistan.
SCORECARD
He ended last season’s Championship campaign – one where he become Hampshire’s first batter to 1,000 first-class runs since 2016 – with 56 and began the new campaign in identical fettle.
It was a look down and you missed it half-century, coming up in 62 balls but with hardly a shot in anger. It obviously included a cover drive but otherwise kept the ball on a string to ease his side from danger in an 84-run stand with Gubbins, taking the score away from the worrying 26 for two.
Gubbins, who had scored twin centuries on Lancashire’s previous trip to Utilita Bowl, unfurled his typically aesthetic yet steady knock to provide the foil for Vince before helping Prest lay the foundations for his innings.
Australian spinner Lyon had been due to play for Hampshire in 2020 before Covid prevented him from arriving. His maiden first-class outing on what would have been his home ground saw him strike in his seventh over as Vince tamely turned to leg-slip.
Lyon was given the lone front-line spinner furrow, with England left-armer Tom Hartley left out having played in the rain-affected draw against Surrey. The 36-year-old also lured Gubbins into a drive to edge behind three balls after reaching a 112-run 50 but the most intriguing passage of the day was Lyon’s battle with 21-year-old Prest.
It began with a sharp chance at short-leg, which was followed by a maiden over where every ball landed on the same spot, before Prest reposted with a pair of reverse sweeps. The battle would conclude with 33 runs and 34 dots in 51 balls – including the day’s only maximum on the slog sweep.
Prest is one to watch this season after his maiden century in the penultimate fixture of last season, where he took down Simon Harmer in style.
His 76-ball fifty oozed quality and underlined his tag but fell short of a century when he gloved a sweep to slip, three balls after Lyon had dropped a difficult chance on the dive. It ended a 93-run alliance with Dawson.
Ben Brown fell soon after when Will Williams secured an edge to third slip with the second new ball but Dawson made it a quartet of fifty-makers with an unbeaten 61 – although was dropped on 51 before the close.
DAY 2
Keaton Jennings struck his first Vitality County Championship half-century of the season as his Lancashire side put in a strong showing on day two against Hampshire at the Utilita Bowl.
He totted up 85 with only one dropped catch as a blemish in an otherwise authoritative innings, with his opening partner reaching 55.
Lancashire ended the day on 233 for four, 134 runs behind Hampshire’s first innings total on a placid Ageas Bowl pitch.
Having bowled Hampshire out for what felt like an about-par 367, Wells and Jennings made hay in good batting conditions.
Mohammad Abbas’ battle with Wells was intriguing, with the Pakistan fast bowler sending down 16 challenging dot balls before the batter could manoeuvre himself off strike.
And from that point, the former Sussex opener slowly put himself on top of the home side’s bowling attack to rush towards his first half-century of the season.
He found straight driving particularly profitable as he needed just 65 balls to reach the milestone – the 68th fifty of his career.
Wells fell to end an 87-run partnership, of which he had notched up 55 when he clipped Abbas to Tom Prest at short midwicket – in doing so becoming the fifth batter to 50 but not 100.
Jennings was far less aggressive in his approach but never looked in too much danger as the Kookaburra ball quickly went soft.
His main approach to the lack of pace in the pitch by batting further and further out his crease, with Lancashire’s general tactic of hitting down the ground, in opposition to Hampshire’s square domination.
Jennings was dropped at point on 36 by Nick Gubbins, who lost his trousers in the process, before slowly closing in on 57th first-class half-century – which eventually arrived in 122 balls.
Josh Bohannon made 30 out of 38 with Bohannon before chopping James Fuller onto his own stumps, after a big build-up of pressure from the Pavilion End – started by Kyle Abbott and continued by Fuller.
Jennings then teamed up with George Balderson in an 86-run stand which appeared to be never ending and provide the backdrop for a first innings lead.
But Balderson held out to deep midwicket for 38 before Tom Bruce was brilliantly caught at first slip by Liam Dawson to give Holland two wickets in two balls to turn the momentum.
George Bell narrowly avoided edging the hat-trick ball before surviving to the close with Jennings.
Earlier, Hampshire added 62 runs to their overnight score as they extended their first innings by an hour and a half, with three batting points pocketed.
Dawson had gone to bed on 61 having begun his season in the sort of form that 2023 was remembered for, and continued to tick along with Ian Holland and James Fuller in 38 and 45 run partnerships.
Baring a little scamper to reach 350 in plenty of time – which included Dawson pulling Will Williams for a maximum – there was hardly any deviation from a placid tempo.
Holland fell leg before to Williams before Fuller edged a drive off Luke Wells to a helmeted Keaton Jennings at first slip, while Dawson fell for an innings-high 86 by a smart catch behind off Tom Bailey. It meant none of Hampshire’s four fifty makers were able to convert to three figures.
Nathan Lyon completed the innings when Kyle Abbott was caught at long on by Jennings – the Australian ending with three for 110 from a backbreaking 38.1 overs.
From then on in, Lancashire bedded in and made the most of a pitch and ball that was suited for patient long-form batting.
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