Day One

Tom Prest suggested 2024 will be his breakthrough season by scoring an impeccable 85 as Hampshire edged day one of their Vitality County Championship clash with Lancashire.

Former England under-19 captain Prest hinted at his first-class talents with his maiden ton towards the end of last season and opened his account this year with a high-quality knock.

He 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 new opening partner Fletcha Middleton was run out in the ninth over by a George Balderson direct hit.

Orr departed four overs later when Tom Bailey had him caught behind, but from there, Hampshire found more fluency and built partnerships in overcast conditions.

Vince had come off a winter of white ball cricket, taking him from Abu Dhabi to Australia, Dubai to Pakistan.

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 turned one 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 Two

Keaton Jennings put behind his disappointment at missing out on England’s Test tour to India by beginning his Vitality County Championship campaign with a half-century.

Opening batter Jennings was part of the England Lion squad acting as support for the Test squad in the sub-continent this winter, but Ben Duckett and Zak Crawley were preferred by Ben Stokes and Brendon McCullum.

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 Utilita 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 recklessly slogged 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.

Day Three

Keaton Jennings quickly disproved a Utilita Bowl jinx with a fine century to ease Lancashire into a large first-innings lead over Hampshire.

Five batters – Nick Gubbins, James Vince, Tom Prest, Liam Dawson and Luke Wells – had scored fifties without converting to three figures in the first fixture at the newly renamed ground.

But Jennings turned his overnight 85 into 172 with barely a moment out of shape, 21-year-old George Bell brilliantly accompanied him – but he was left cursing himself after running himself out for 99, with a maiden first-class century at his fingertips.

Lancashire were eventually bowled out for 484 – with Liam Dawson picking up four for 156 – boasting a 117-run lead. Hampshire lost two wickets to Will Williams before the close as they reached 39 for two.

Neither the pitch nor the Kookaburra ball have assisted the bowlers in any way shape or form, but batters have been able to make hay at the Utilita Bowl.

The only time Jennings had looked at ease during his seven-and-a-half-hour vigil had been on day two when he was dropped at point, when on 36, by Nick Gubbins.

Otherwise, it was a 360-degree showcase of his skills, with the lack of movement from the fast bowlers not troubling him, and his renowned brilliance against spin made threats low.

The former Test opener reached his 28th first-class century in 234 balls with an effortless cover drive as he and Bell eased through the morning session.

In fact, Hampshire’s solitary moment of joy came when they thought James Fuller had produced an edge out of Jennings, but their celebrations were cut short by the lack of the umpire’s finger.

Jennings moved through 150 – something six of his last seven red ball centuries have done – with Lancashire reaching 350 before the bonus points ended. That point will mean Lancashire will take one extra point if this ends in a draw.

The 40th over of the day finally ended the 166-run stand between Jennings and Bell, as Dawson pinned Jennings while he played a reverse sweep.

Bell was largely risk-averse throughout his innings but showed he was capable of driving attractively and adeptly finding gaps.

He wouldn’t be rushed with his 50 coming in 132 balls, with a century seeming inevitable – despite seeing Dawson have Matthew Hurst caught at first slip and Tom Bailey leg before, having previously stood his ground after James Vince wrongfully claimed a catch.

The only time he looked skittish was in the 90s and taking off for a single – when one was needed for a fine first ton. A run was never really in the offering, something Jack Blatherwick recognised and sent him back but too late for Ian Holland to directly hit from point.

It was the second time that Bell had fallen in the 90 – having hit 91 against Middlesex last September – with a century surely not far away.

Dawson’s tireless twirling away for 49 overs concluded by bowling Will Williams, before Fuller claimed his second of the innings when Blatherwick edged behind.

In 21 twilight overs under the lights, all of the visiting bowlers beat the bat countless times, but were rewarded with a pair of wickets.

Williams tickled a defending Fletcha Middleton’s outside edge and a swishing Ali Orr to give Lancashire a slight hope of forcing an unlikely win.

Day Four

Nick Gubbins batted out the final day to make sure Hampshire and Lancashire drew their Vitality County Championship fixture at Utilita Bowl – and maintained the visitors’ unbeaten record on the ground.

Gubbins added an unbeaten 69 to his first innings 50 in a four-and-a-half-hour vigil to nullify any threat of a Hampshire collapse and a result – with James Vince and Tom Prest equally stubborn in their resistance.

Lancashire picked up one extra point to Hampshire’s 12, with both sides shaking off their rain-affected openers with more shared points.

It did however extend the Red Roses’ record of not losing a first-class away match at Hampshire to 35 years – with the last home success coming at Portsmouth in 1989.

Any hopes of Lancashire forcing a result by blowing away Hampshire quickly were kyboshed by no play possible in the morning due to a rain shower which left the run-ups temporarily unusable.

In all 24 overs were lost from the day before the visitors set about hoping to add the final eight wickets to avoid the otherwise inevitable draw in strong winds.

George Bell had spoken the previous evening about how excited he has been for fielding at short leg to Lyon, despite being in the firing line for the angle the ball is turning.

He got his wish to share a line on the scorecard with the legendary Australian spinner when nightwatchman Kyle Abbott clipped the 16th ball of the day to the 21-year-old under the helmet.

Any chance of the hosts collapsing from that point ended with Gubbins and James Vince occupying the crease for the next two hours – and in Gubbins’ case, beyond.

Lyon, who had claimed three first-innings wickets in 38 overs, tried everything to spark a flurry of wickets with the Kookaburra ball.

He teased Vince with different flights, he flirted with front pads, and he created his own rough at either end of the pitch so he could have a patch to aim at wherever he was bowling.

His battle with Vince also saw the batted bottom edge a sweep, which trickled past his stumps.

Finally, Lyon made an unlikely turn towards BazBall for inspiration when he tried the trick of switching the bails. It turns out that specific magic can only be conjured by Stuart Broad.

More Lancashire tricks of a 7-2 leg-side field and Tom Bailey bowling spin to the left-handed Gubbins and his usual pace to the right-handed Vince, also didn’t produce returns.

Vince and Gubbins were steadfast in their 66-run partnership to showcase their large amount of Championship experience.

Both had scored half-centuries in the first innings, although Vince failed to reach the landmark in the second dig as Lyon pinned his lbw to dismiss him in both innings.

Gubbins scored twin centuries the last time Lancashire came to Utilita Bowl in 2019. He half-replicated that with twin half-centuries, this time coming in 135 balls.

Tom Prest, another first-innings fifty-maker, simply continued where Vince left off – although was unafraid to plonk half-trackers over the ropes for six to end up unbeaten on 45.

The inevitable handshakes came at 16:50 BST, after a short rain delay, to signal the draw.