Day One

Ian Holland dazzled on a rain-affected opening day's play of Hampshire's Bob Willis Trophy clash against Surrey at Arundel, claiming four wickets in 22 balls to leave Surrey slumped on 79-5.

USA international Holland ripped through the Surrey top order along with new ball partner Brad Wheal – with Kyle Abbott, Fidel Edwards, Keith Barker, Ryan Stevenson and Ajeet Dale all unavailable.

Laurie Evans and Jamie Smith set about a recovery for equally depleted Surrey, and their stand was unbeaten on 43 as the visitors reached 79 for five before rain and bad light brought an early close to play.

Surrey skipper Mark Stoneman won the toss and elected to bat first after no play was completed during the morning session, due to misty-rain and bad light.

That decision almost immediately looked incorrect as Holland began to roll through Surrey.

Stoneman did manage to stroke 12 off the opening over of the innings, as Brad Wheal looked rusty during his first first-class bowl for 825 days.

Medium-pacer Holland has usually been utilised as a fifth seamer during his three years at Hampshire.

But with Abbott and Edwards stuck abroad, and Barker, Stevenson and Dale all injured, Holland claimed the new ball and excelled.

He needed just five balls to bowl Ryan Patel – with the left-handed batsman able to block the ball only for it to slowly rotate back and tip his off-stump bail off.

In his next over, the Australia-bred Holland found Scott Borthwick’s outside edge to nick behind for a duck.

Scotland international Wheal then put his injury problems behind him to have Will Jacks lbw – his 10 overs in the session returning 1-29 – before Stoneman was leg before to Holland for 21.

Winless Surrey have also fallen foul of availability issues, with 14 players missing for their defeat to Essex last week.

They welcomed back former South Africa international Morne Morkel - who flew in from Australia - with Matt Dunn and Jason Roy also returning to the side.

Roy, who missed the opening two rounds as he was in England's white-ball side, was the fifth man to depart on his first red-ball appearance since last summer’s Ashes, and first for Surrey for almost two years.

Roy offered no shot to Holland’s in-ducker – which was adjudged to be hitting the off stump – handing the all-rounder his 50th first-class scalp.

Evans and Smith’s methods of rebuilding juxtaposed each other.

Evans, on loan from Sussex, thrashed James Fuller for four successive boundaries, while wicketkeeper Smith score one from his first 35 balls.

Smith had proportionately accelerated to three from 48 deliveries and Evans reached an accomplished 39 before an early tea was taken due to bad light - and with the light failing to improve and rain falling, it also ended the day's play.

Day Two

Ian Holland secured his maiden first-class five-wicket haul but Hampshire's dominance was thwarted by the rain at Arundel in the Bob Willis Trophy.

All-rounder Holland, who had taken four wickets on the first day, added Laurie Evans and Gus Atkinson to his total to take his analysis to six for 39.

Sussex loanee Evans had scored his first half-century for Surrey since 2010 but his side remained in trouble on 130 for eight but rain only allowed 16 overs on day two.

Holland has had a unique cricketing career.

He was born in Wisconsin, USA, brought up in Australia, played age-group cricket for Victoria, was released then earned back a contract by winning reality TV show Cricket Superstar - where he was judged by Aussie great Allan Border.

He played once for the Victoria state side in the Sheffield Shield before being picked up by Hampshire in 2017 – for whom he has batted throughout the order in 36 matches – and earned an international bow for the USA last year.

Holland was forced to wait to make the morning breakthrough as Evans and Jamie Smith continued their partnership, with conditions slightly less conducive for similar movement to the opening day.

Evans is back at Surrey on a short-term loan, due to large scale unavailability, having spent five years as a professional between 2005 and 2010.

The 32-year-old had returned with a solid 41 against Essex last week but went one better to post his first first-class half-century for the county for a decade.

After 11 morning overs, Holland did make a breakthrough when Evans, who needed 64 balls for his adventurous fifty, was lbw for 65.

Evans had added 84 with Smith, and was quickly followed back to the boundary edge.

Tom Scriven, on his first-class debut, found lovely movement away from Smith to take the outside edge, through to Lewis McManus – Scriven’s maiden professional wicket.

Atkinson was Holland’s sixth victim when he was leg before – with the covers coming on four balls later, with lunch taken 45 minutes early.

But that rain continued, and got heavier, throughout the early afternoon to force umpires Ben Debenham and Billy Taylor to abandon play at 2.20pm.

Day Three

Sam Northeast reached his 77th first-class half-century with a trademarked no-fuss innings as Hampshire dashed past Surrey’s first innings score at Arundel.

Stand-in captain Northeast looked serene for his second Bob Willis Trophy fifty as he reached 81, following a 121-run stand with third-wicket partner Tom Alsop, who ended the day unbeaten on 52.

Surrey had earlier been bowled out for 172 and ended the day in arrears of 26, as Hampshire reached 198 for three.

Following two days where a combined 40 overs were able to be bowled due to rain, both sides were further frustrated by a wet outfield, particularly the run-up areas, which prevented any play in the morning session.

Blue skies, punctuated by the odd non-threatening cloud, created a postcard-ready vista at the ever-pleasant Arundel Castle Ground – where Hampshire are playing their home red ball matches this season due to England’s use of the Utilita Bowl – when the action finally arrived.

Hampshire needed two Surrey wickets, but were forced to wait as Morne Morkel wielded his bat for some vital tailender runs.

The South African, who flew in from Australia last week to join up with Surrey, battered seven boundaries in his tubthumping 33 from 25 balls.

Leg spinner Mason Crane put an end to the fun though when he pinned him lbw, before rounding off the innings by having Amar Virdi stumped by a lightning-quick Lewis McManus.

Crane celebrated figures of two for eight, while Holland returned career-best analysis of six for 60 despite going wicketless on day three.

The early stages of Hampshire’s reply were the antithesis of Surrey’s approach – with the hosts hoping to only bat once in the match and force an innings victory.

Felix Organ, Joe Weatherley and Alsop took a cautious approach, where Surrey had flailed the bat much sooner – albeit in much less swing to have to negate.

Organ was lucky to survive a fiery opening over from former South Africa international Morkel.

Morkel found bounce to take the 22-year-old’s outside edge, but Ryan Patel shelled the chance to his right at second slip.

Organ smoked two boundaries on the drive off Matt Dunn, but fell when he was bowled leaving a Gus Atkinson in-ducker.

In form Weatherley, who scored 98 and 64 not out in the victory over Middlesex last week, started slowly but took a particular shine to Patel – who he eased to three boundaries.

He looked on course to repeat his heroics at Radlett but fell lbw to Virdi on the cusp of tea.

When Northeast was left out of England’s 55-man training squad earlier this summer he bemoaned a lack of opportunity to prove the selectors wrong.

Northeast’s classy array of backfoot drives, legside flicks and dabs down to third man were all on show and proved a man in form.

He needed 82 balls to reach a chanceless half-century, on a ground he scored a century on his only previous appearance – in a Second XI fixture for Kent against Sussex in 2012.

While Northeast played shot-maker, Alsop sat like a sentinel at the other end.

The left-hander had only scored eight in the 50-run stand with Weatherley, and provided a similar backbone for Northeast.

Alsop has been given the opportunity to make the No.3 spot his own for the long-term this season, having seen McManus become first-choice wicketkeeper over the last 12 months.

The trust in his batting has returned starts of 21 and 27 so far in the Bob Willis Trophy, but he kicked on to reach a gritty 128 ball 50.

He lost Northeast was lbw to one which kept low from Virdi, who had switched from the Park to the Castle End.

Day Four

James Fuller became the 15th player to take a hat-trick for Hampshire, and the first for anyone in the Bob Willis Trophy, to help his side to a sensational innings victory over Surrey.

Fast bowler Fuller (4-17) dismissed Laurie Evans, Gus Atkinson and Morne Morkel in successive deliveries to take Hampshire’s first hat-trick since Kyle Abbott against Worcestershire two years ago.

The feat came as Hampshire bowled Surrey out for 74 to win by an innings and 52 runs at Arundel.

Hampshire have now won back-to-back matches in the competition and took 21 points from the contest, while winless Surrey claimed three.

Hampshire had been targeting a building a big lead, quickly, in the morning before hoping Mason Crane could spin them to victory.

That wasn’t how things materialised.

Firstly, their hopes of expanding their lead was thwarted by rain showers, which lobbed an hour, and 15 overs, out of the proceedings.

Secondly, they lost wickets quickly, without boosting their lead considerably – as they were bowled out for 298, leading to the draw to become the favourite result.

But their plans were put back on track thanks to some clinical bowling with the new ball – which built pressure – before Fuller produced his magic.

Mark Stoneman was given a life on nought when he was dropped by Tom Alsop at second slip, but at the other end Wheal made the breakthrough when Ryan Patel nicked behind to Lewis McManus.

Alsop made amends for his earlier butterfingers by holding his next chance off Stoneman’s edge.

Will Jacks quickly followed when he was lbw to Ian Holland, who took a six-wicket haul in the first innings.

It only took Mason Crane two deliveries to show off his danger when he pinned Scott Borthwick in front, to leave Surrey 27 for four. That became 39 for five when Jason Roy was lbw to Fuller after tea.

It was a precursor for what was to come for Fuller as he turned a potential win into an almost sure-fire thing.

Former Middlesex all-rounder Fuller only bowled two overs in the first innings after he was smashed for 17 off an over, but showed promise by starting his second innings spell with two maidens.

Then he burst into life with the 19th hat-trick in Hampshire history.

The South African-born New Zealander’s pace did for Sussex loanee Evans, who nicked to Alsop at first slip, before Atkinson was lbw and Morkel turned around to find his off-stump two yards back while leaving.

Amazingly, it wasn’t Fuller’s maiden first-class treble – having taken one for Gloucestershire against Worcestershire in 2013.

After a seven-over blockout from Matt Dunn and Jamie Smith, the former was adjudged lbw to Crane. 

And Hampshire's victory was confirmed when Amar Virdi was lbw to Crane (3-19) - the 14th by an innings this century.

Earlier, Alsop had scored a magnificent half century on day three but fell to Virdi for 87 when he edged to a jubilant Scott Borthwick at first slip.

Came fell two balls later when he was pinned on the crease, before Dunn had Fuller plumb in front with the first ball on the next over and Holland soon chopped on to his own stumps.

Lewis McManus picked out Jason Roy on the square-leg boundary, while debutant Tom Scriven was bowled attempting to yahoo off-spinner Virdi over cow corner.

Virdi now has 14 wickets in the Bob Willis Trophy – the second-best haul for a spinner in the country - after his six for 101.

Dunn rounded off the innings by sending Wheal’s middle stump cart-wheeling, although Crane had played a good hand with a shot-a-ball 25 not out.