Report & Reaction: Hampshire Men v Surrey, Rothesay County Championship

Day One

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Hampshire skittle reigning champions Surrey for 147 to all but snuff out the visitor’s Rothesay County Championship title-winning hopes, as the Rose and Crown boosted their chance of remaining in Division One.

The Three Feathers went into the last round 14 points behind Nottinghamshire – who they lost to last week – but after they collapsed, their hopes of a fourth successive crown dwindled further.

Kyle Abbott led the rout with three for 27 – taking his 50th Championship scalp of the season in the process – with James Fuller and Washington Sundar also picking up three-wicket hauls.

Hampshire had eased themselves into a first-innings lead, picking up three vital bonus points in their fight for safety.

Surrey chose to bat first and gave 17-year-old Ralphie Albert his first-class debut. The all-rounder wasn’t even born when Hampshire’s Liam Dawson made his professional bow.

Surrey were massively depleted with Gus Atkinson, Ollie Pope, Jamie Smith, Sam Curran, Will Jacks, Tom Curran, Jordan Clark and Cam Steel all unavailable, but even still their display was surprising.

Dom Sibley was lbw to Abbott early on before the South African drew a loose drive out of Ryan Patel to celebrate his 50th wicket of the season.

It is the sixth Championship campaign that Abbott has reached the landmark and would later add No. 51 when he bowled Ralphie Albert.

Fuller also grabbed three wickets to gut the rest of the top order, as Rory Bruns wafted to a juggling Sundar at first slip before bowling Ben Foakes with a nip backer and found Dan Lawrence skying an attempted pull – the latter walked before the ball was caught having scrapped hard for his innings-high 36.

The back end of the innings saw wickets fall to spin. Indian international Sundar was particularly wily in his 20 balls, in which he only conceded five runs while taking three wickets.

Ollie Sykes went back to one that skidded into his stumps, Matt Fisher was undone by a stunner that cannoned across him and into off stump, while compatriot Rahul Chahar guided to first slip. In the middle of it, Tom Lawes was caught and bowled by Liam Dawson.

Surrey were bowled out for 147 inside 44 overs – their lowest total of the season at the least opportune moment as the title slipped away from them.

The pitch had offered a fair amount of movement, but not excessive, and wickets were mostly down to batting errors and high-quality bowling rather than the elements.

Hampshire further suggested a poor pitch wasn’t to blame as Ali Orr glided through the opening overs.

He smashed 18 of the second over of the innings alone and by the fifth over had already secured a partnership higher than anything Surrey had managed in their innings – their best being the 32 between Lawrence and Sykes.

Orr’s fast start was undone by a swing down leg side but Fletcha Middleton and Nick Gubbins put on 50 to set the sort of foundation that the visitors couldn’t lay.

Lawrence then bowled Gubbins had Middleton leg-before as the all-rounder ended the day with two for 12 after an exceptional nine over spell of off spin.

But Hampshire avoided any serious wobble as Toby Albert and Ben Brown stayed cautiously positive to take them to close with a lead – despite 13 wickets falling on the opening day.