Hampshire v Essex
Specsavers County Championship | Ageas Bowl | Friday 27 – Monday 30 April
11am Start
Hampshire team | Jimmy Adams (4), Joe Weatherley (5), James Vince* (14), Hashim Amla (99), Rilee Rossouw (30), Liam Dawson (8), Lewis McManus+ (18), Kyle Abbott (87), Chris Wood (25), Brad Wheal (58), Fidel Edwards (82).
Essex team | Nick Browne (10), Alastair Cook (26), Tom Westley (21), Dan Lawrence (28), Ravi Bopara (25), Ryan ten Doeschate* (27), James Foster+ (7), Simon Harmer (11), Peter Siddle (64), Jamie Porter (44), Sam Cook (11).
Umpires | Paul Baldwin & Tim Robinson
Toss | Uncontested, Essex exercised their right to bowl first
Result | Match Drawn
Day Four | Match Highlights
Day Four | Close of Play Report
Alastair Cook and Ravi Bopara both hit 84 as Essex ended with 10 points from the drawn match with Hampshire at The Ageas Bowl, where bad light and rain accounted for the loss of 200 overs in the first three days.
The 33 year-old Cook, making his first appearance of the domestic season, began his summer with an assured innings full of authority and batted for three hours and struck 11 boundaries
Some pundits had questioned his place in the England Test side question having only passed fifty once in seven matches in Australia and New Zealand but the left-hander responded to that suggestion in the most positive of manners with an innings that contained typical concentration and application to show his well-being ahead of the forthcoming Test series with Pakistan.
Bopara too was in classical form exuding typical wristy strokeplay that took him to a fine unbeaten 84 during which he featured in two substantial partnerships.
He and Cook added 87 in 24 overs for the fourth wicket after the visitors had lost three wickets in 11 balls to leave them 61 for 3.
Nick Browne scored 26 out of 54 for the first wicket but Tom Westley went without scoring and Dan Lawrence departed for 6 leaving Cook and Bopara to steady the ship.
Cook’s innings came to an end when he was caught behind playing back with the score on 148 and after Ryan ten Doeschate scored a run-a-ball 24, James Foster joined Bopara in a 76 runs stand in 16 overs during which Foster played the aggressive role before being dismissed four runs short of his half-century.
Essex had just gained their second batting point but Simon Harmer (21 not out) collaborated with Bopara to find the further 49 runs for another point before Essex declared on 300 for 6 with less than two overs remaining for play.
Play had started on time but in freezing conditions with seven Essex players wearing woolly hats. Peter Siddle, even wore his whilst bowling.
Hampshire resumed their innings on 241 for 4 and Siddle soon caused some damage. With the second delivery of the day, he shattered Rilee Rossouw’s bat and then two deliveries later, had the batsman caught in the slip cordon.
The home side then turned up the tempo adding 31 for the 6th wicket before Kyle Abbott wielded the long handle to score 43 from 35 deliveries taking his side to within ten runs of a fourth batting point.
Chris Wood then secured that point and immediately the hosts declared on 351 for 7 to leave Essex five overs to face before lunch.
Siddle finished with 3 for 62 and there were two wickets in the morning for Sam Cook that came at a cost of 87 runs.
Now it’s back to The Cloudfm County Ground on Friday where Essex meet Yorkshire in the next Specsavers County Championship match scheduled to commence at 11am.
Day Three | Match Highlights
Day Three Reaction | Dimitri Mascarenhas
Day Three | Close of Play Report
Once again, players spent more time in the dressing room rather than on the field on a day when the cricket action was restricted to only 28 overs of play as Hampshire progressed to 241 for 4.
With the floodlights on throughout the day, just 23.2 overs were bowled in the first session before bad light interrupted proceedings at 12:34pm and an early lunch was taken with the home side 233 for 2.
It was not until 2:50pm that umpires Neil Bainton and Paul Baldwin deemed that the light was good enough to continue but after just 28 deliveries were sent down before it was decided by the officials that light had deteriorated sufficiently to call a halt once more.
Although they made a series of inspections in the hope of restarting the game, the abandonment of play for the day was called at 6pm.
The little play that did take place allowed both teams to collect a bonus point apiece.
Jimmy Adams and Hashim Amla extended their third wicket stand to 93 and the total to 227 when their partnership was ended by Jamie Porter.
The pace man gained deserved reward for a fine piece of bowling at the start of the day maintaining an excellent line and length. In his fourth over, he beat Adams twice outside off before the opener was dropped by Alastair Cook at first slip with his score on 62.
The second new ball was taken with the total 220 for 2 and although bad light brought an early conclusion to the morning’s play on 233 for 2, the new cherry was soon to bring the champions some reward.
After play finally restarted in the afternoon, two wickets fell in the space of 26 balls and 14 runs.
Peter Siddle who also kept a disciplined line of attack, brought about the downfall of Hashim Amla. The South African completed an 80-ball half-century that embraced five superbly timed boundaries but with his score on 52, he pushed forward to a ball that found the edge and was caught by James Foster with the score on 227
Although Rilee Rossouw showed his intent with a couple of drives that raced to the ropes, Porter gained consolation for his earlier misfortune when he undid Adams with a beauty that rapped the batsman on the pads as he stepped across his stumps looking to drive. It ended a stay of almost 5 and three-quarter hours for the watchful Adams who had faced 264 deliveries and gathered 12 boundaries.
Two more deliveries proved to be the last of the action when bad light stopped play.
So far, only 88 overs have been bowled in this match whilst 200 have been lost to the weather and 135 of those caused through bad light. Not a single ball was bowled in Essex’s other away match at Headingley and it is of little surprise that Ryan ten Doeschate cannot wait to bring his charges back to a sunny Chelmsford where they are due to face Yorkshire on Friday.
Day Two | Match Highlights
Day Two Reaction | Anthony McGrath
Day Two | Close of Play Report
Hampshire had reached 154 for 2 at the Ageas Bowl when bad light ended play for the day with opener Jimmy Adams unbeaten on 57 and Hashim Amla 8 not out.
For the second time in three matches this season, Essex has suffered frustration by the weather.
After a complete wash out at Headingley in the first scheduled fixture, only 15 overs were possible on the opening day of this County Championship match. Although the second day’s morning session went the full course, only 12 overs were possible after lunch before bad light ended any further action beyond 2:30pm.
Their series of subsequent inspections failed to find any improvement in the light and play was abandoned for the day at 5:30pm.
The action on day two was played under slate grey skies and with the floodlights on and with a change of umpire, Neil Bainton taking over from Tim Robinson who was suffering with an eye complaint relating to his contact lenses. So cold were the conditions out on the middle that the other official Paul Baldwin took to the field wearing gloves.
Jimmy Adams and Joe Weatherley had resumed their opening stand on 41 for 0 but in the 6th over of the morning, Peter Siddle gained the breakthrough for the champions when he had Weatherley caught at third slip by Nick Browne for 29 with the score on 54.
James Vince then joined the watchful Adams to take the score into three figures as both batsmen overcame the initially challenging conditions of a ball that nipped around early on. Vince was more pleasing to the eye playing the more aggressive role and had scored 41 of the 71 runs added for the second wicket by lunch when Adams went to the interval one run short of his half-century.
That soon arrived when play resumed as he collected a couple of runs against Simon Harmer having faced 138 deliveries and collected 8 boundaries.
It was off-spinner Harmer who that finally ended a partnership of 80 runs in 32 overs. Finding some extra bounce, he encouraged Vince to chase a ball outside off stump and edge into the gloves of James Foster to leave Hampshire 134 for 2.
Vince was within one run of his half-century and his self-annoyance was evident as he smacked his bat against his pads on his way back to the pavilion having ended an almost 2 hours stay at the crease that spanned 103 balls and 6 fours.
The vigilant Adams was then joined by Amla who played 3 Championship matches for Essex in 2009 scoring over 400 runs that included two centuries and a 50 in 5 innings for an average of 103.50
Amla soon found the boundary whilst the careful and unflappable Adams continued to underpin the innings. By the premature close, the opener had faced 180 deliveries and gathered 9 boundaries.
Day One | Close of Play Report
Just one hour’s play was possible on the opening day of the Specsavers County Championship match between Hamsphire and Essex at the Ageas Bowl where the home side reached 41 without loss in 15 overs before the rain arrived.
After an uncontested toss and a delayed start of half an hour, Essex were hoping to make up for lost time with early inroads into the hosts batting but although the new ball pair of Jamie Porter and Sam Cook passed the bat on a number of occasions, both openers survived the 15 overs play.
Under grey skies and with the floodlights on, Joe Weatherley and Jimmy Adams survived a couple of early alarms before looking increasingly more comfortable. Weatherley collected the first boundary of the morning when he found the third man boundary off a thick edge when facing Cook.
However, he looked altogether more at ease when finding the ropes off successive deliveries from the same bowler six overs later whilst Adams too drove the bowler to the boundary to bring an end to the 20 year-old’s spell.
Porter who had been replaced by Peter Siddle returned to take over but he was only able to send down one further over before the rain arrived to bring the players off the field for an early lunch.
The rain became heavier leaving pools of water on the outfield and the bowlers run ups sodden. It was of little surprise when following an umpires inspection at 2:30pm, it was deemed that conditions were too wet for any prospects of further play on the day.
Alastair Cook was making his return to the Essex side for his first appearance of the season whilst namesake Sam was also declared fit following the cracked finger he sustained in training last week.
However, Hampshire are without winter signing and new captain Sam Northeast who misses the match because of a suspected fractured finger sustained during fielding drills in training yesterday.
Play is scheduled to resume at 11am tomorrow.
