LVCC: Hampshire v Sussex

LVCC Hampshire v Sussex - Day 1

A 150 run partnership between Sean Ervine and Nic Pothas dragged Hampshire back into contention in their LVCC match against Sussex at The Rose Bowl, after the home side found themselves on 145 for 4. Ervine went on to complete a dazzling century, eventually falling for 109 while Pothas passed 10,000 First Class career runs on his way to a sensational 74. Corey Collymore, Damien Wright and Robin Martin-Jenkins all took two wickets for Sussex with Hampshire ending the day on 341 for 8.

Yet another sunny Rose Bowl morning saw Sussex put Hampshire into bat after winning the toss, and as soon as the tenth over their decision seemed vindicated. With only 26 on the board, Michael Carberry looked to play the ball over the covers only to be brilliantly caught by Andrew Hodd off Martin-Jenkins for 17.

A further ten overs passed with Michael Lumb and Jimmy Adams at the crease, the pair becoming increasingly frustrated by Sussex’s pace attack and the score remaining at 41 for 1 for a five over spell during the morning session. Hampshire’s cautious approach in the first session did include the occasional boundary, with Adams pulling Ragheb Aga for a huge six just before lunch. The partnership between the two reached fifty in the 29th over before Lumb (30) found himself caught behind by Matt Prior off Wright, who had earlier been driven deliciously by his victim.

The home side finished the morning session on 82 for 2, with Adams unbeaten on 31 and new man Chris Benham, in for the injured John Crawley, still yet to score.

Benham didn’t stick around for long after lunch however, with just 15 balls passing before Rory Hamilton-Brown caught him at second slip off Martin-Jenkins for a single. However Adams’ luck was a shade better as his edge off Collymore snuck agonisingly through wicketkeeper Prior and first slip Ed Joyce and sailed for four. After making his 19th half century, Adams’ knock was ended just 11 runs later, as the local lad offered only half a stroke and his attempt to pull away was cruelly capitalised on by Prior, comfortably taking him off Aga’s bowling. It left Hampshire 145 for 4, midway through day one.

Ervine then showed his intentions to get Hampshire back into the game, smashing three consecutive fours off Aga as he and Pothas led the charge. The skipper soon reached a huge personal milestone as he passed the 10,000 First Class run mark with a brilliantly crafted four. Ervine continued his innings by bringing up his half century after smashing spinner Chris Nash for a big six. Hampshire finished the afternoon session 224 for 4 with Ervine on 63 and Pothas on 34.

With the double act well set, the final session was sure to be the perfect opportunity to press the Hampshire advantage. It took six overs after tea for Pothas and Ervine to reach their 100 run partnership as conditions became impeccable for batting. Hampshire slipped into a period of dominance as Sussex’s decision to bat first looked like a misjudgement.

Pothas reached fifty in 77 balls, but it was Ervine who was taking centre stage, completing a brilliant hundred, his 6th in first class cricket. The milestones continued the tumble for the duo as they reached their 150 run partnership, but with the new ball pending Ervine (109, his highest score for Hampshire) found Hamilton-Brown at gully off the bowling of Joyce, who in turn secured his first ever wicket for his new club, Sussex.

Pothas, fresh from his landmark achievement went searching for the new ball, but soon yielded to Collymore as he was caught behind by Prior for 74. The tail was now in sight for the away side and Dominic Cork put on just two before Collymore found the edge, which went straight to Prior - his forth dismissal of the day. Chris Tremlett was next back to the pavilion for four as he edged to Hamilton-Brown at second slip off Wright to leave Hampshire on 341 for 8 at the close of play, with Dawson unbeaten on 22.

With rain expected tomorrow both sides can be satisfied with the day’s play, especially Sussex who will be keen to knock over the rest of Hampshire tail when play should resume at 11am tomorrow.

Speaking on his impressive landmark, Pothas was keen to play down its significance. “To me, as an individual, all that matters is the winning contributions I can make for the team. If I can win three one day games for us in a year, and maybe win two or three Championship games, then I’ve done a job. If everyone can do that then it covers the whole season and we play winning cricket. That’s the most important thing to me; how many times can I get us out of trouble, and how many times I can win games for my team.”

Match report by Nick Howson and Steve Woodgate

(written for www.rosebowlplc.com)