Surrey Vs Hampshire, Day 3: Ball in Hampshire’s court after disruptive day
A slightly chillier morning at the Kia Oval as Surrey came out to resume their 2nd innings against Hampshire at 136-1, leading by 170 runs at the start of Day 3 of this Rothesay County Championship Division 1 clash. Ollie Pope and Dom Sibley closed out the previous day with a rapid partnership of 80 runs and hoped to keep that momentum this Sunday morning.
Session 1
Things weren’t easy as Kyle Abbott and Brad Wheal were swinging the ball from the get go, thanks to the overcast conditions. Pope came close to walking back to the pavilion in just the third over, as he nicked the ball on Abott’s delivery, only to be dropped by Toby Albert at slip. The pair were struggling to find their footing against Abbott’s tight bowling, but were slowly getting comfortable against Wheal at the other end.
Hampshire kept the pressure going with some great stops in the field, which paid off in the 47th over as Pope edged the ball while attempting a hook shot and was caught behind by Ben Brown off Abbott’s bowling. The wicket came right after Pope and Sibley brought their partnership to 100 runs, thus making it a much needed breakthrough for Hampshire. Momentum didn’t however change hands as in came Jamie Smith guns blazing.
Smith got off the mark with a boundary, a cracking back foot punch through the covers. The problems didn’t stop there as Smith settled quickly on the pitch, solidly attacking the ball. Smith and Sibley went on swimmingly till lunch, as the pair brought up their 50 run partnership in just 15 overs. Surrey scored 88 runs in the session, with the Surrey total at 224-2 at lunch.
Overs-31
Runs-88
Wickets-1
Session 2
Hampshire failed to find much inspiration after lunch, as despite Abbott returning to the attack, the game was very much in Surrey’s hands. Smith and Sibley both hit milestones in the 74th over. First Smith got to his half century in 79 balls and then Sibley completed twin centuries, following up on his ton from the first innings.
A breakthrough seemed unlikely as the two England internationals were very settled on the crease, reaching a 100 run partnership in the 78th over. Then Liam Dawson finally struck in the 17th over of his spell, forcing Sibley to go for a big hit at deep extra cover, where he found Sonny Baker at the boundary.
Ben Foakes came out to bat after, only to be dismissed himself after just facing six deliveries. Brett Hampton baited Foakes with a short delivery, as he pulled the ball straight to Tom Prest at short mid wicket, walking back with just one run.
Hampshire finally seemed to be taking the match back, but luck just did not seem to be on their side. English weather once again came to spoil the day, as thick clouds caused the game to be halted due to bad light. Umpires called an early Tea break, ending the second session in just 16 overs.
Overs-16
Runs-58
Wickets-2
Session 3
After a near two hour wait, and much hesitation from the umpires, play finally resumed with reduced overs. With time lost, Surrey had to turn on the thrusters to put up a formidable total for the visitors. The attacking play however came at a cost as Smith was immediately dismissed by Baker at 84 for trying a big shot. With a defensive field set, Dan Lawrence and Ryan Patel rotated strike consistently to boost Surrey’s run rate as they crossed 300.
Baker once again came in strong as Lawrence flicked it to Brown to break the partnership. Jordan Clark was then flummoxed by a beautiful yorker in the same over from Baker. Patel was still trying to salvage some more runs in the other end against Wheal as Surrey’s batting was running thin. Baker then scalped Fisher and Worrall back to back. Fisher, with another blitzing yorker and Worrall with a cut edging to the keeper, as the young pacer completed a five wicket haul. After another couple of runs, Surrey captain Rory Burns declared at 342-9, setting up a total of 377 for Hampshire.
Hampshire came out with 20 overs to play in the day, getting off the mark instantly. Bad light once again interfered with the game as Surrey were occasionally forced to bowl spin with Lawrence and even captain Burns had an over with his dibbly-dobbly medium pace.
West Indian international Kemar Roach drew first blood, using the swinging conditions to trap Mark Stoneman for an LBW. Wheal followed after as a nightwatchman, surviving modestly alongside Fletcha Middleton. That didn’t last long however as Jordan Clark bowled a clean inswinger, just clipping the right bail to bowl him out. Clark then got two in a row, as Baker was out for a golden duck, losing track of the ball and playing it to Pope in second slip. Umpires called stumps four overs early as they had over run an hour due to the delays.
Hampshire finished the day at 35-3 with Middleton and new batsman, Nick Gubbins at the crease. Hampshire require 342 runs to win, while Surrey need 7 wickets to win. With similar conditions expected on the final day on Monday, Surrey may be in a more favourable position, but with an extensive batting line up and a win in their bank, Hampshire still has a good chance to get the win away from home.
