McKenzie the Star in Nail-Biting Win

Neil McKenzie's understated celebration of his century.

Neil McKenzie scores a century and Hampshire claim their first win of the season.

Nottinghamshire v Hampshire
LV= County Championship Division 1
Start: Monday 17th May 2010
Trent Bridge

Summary - Day Four
Hampshire win by 2 wickets
Nottinghamshire: 270 & 315
Hampshire: 305 & 281

Hampshire secured their long-awaited first win of the season in a nail-biting final session at Trent Bridge.

With 56 still needed to win the visitors were down to their 9th wicket partnership as new boys, Neil McKenzie and Rangana Herath faced an uphill struggle together.

But an intelligently worked 50 partnership off 55 deliveries saw them eat away at the score until, with 7 deliveries left to face, McKenzie launched a six over mid-wicket to give Hants their first victory in all competitions of the season.

Having started the day in the knowledge that they would have a mountain to climb to get the 281 second innings score they needed, Hampshire went about the task in a focussed and determined way, not wishing to take any risks with early wickets.

For the first hour they toiled to 34 when, perhaps getting a little restless, the opening pair of Jimmy Adams and Liam Dawson got caught in two minds, and very nearly paid the price.

After a Dawson shot to square leg the pair thought about going for the two before having a change of heart. With Dawson backtracking, Steven Mullaney's throw wasn't quite accurate enough, and the youngster lived to see another day with Hants on 34-0.

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Click on the image above to see highlights of day four

However, the loss of both openers did come fairly soon after, and in quick succession. Both went for 21, leaving Chris Benham and Neil McKenzie to see the team through to lunch. This they did, and Hampshire still felt very much in control during the break on 85-2.

The second session was one of building runs, and although Benham and Vince were seen off Hampshire had nearly cut the deficit in half when Sean Ervine came to the crease. The Zimbabwean has been in such good form of late that you wouldn't have betted against him still being in at the end.

And at tea, Ervine and McKenzie were still at the crease with just over 100 to go. But confidence was knocked just after the hour, when Ervine was trapped lbw by Patel.

Accordingly, the visitors started looking for a repeat of the first innings heroics from the South African double team that is McKenzie and Nic Pothas. The two had combined well to reach a partnership of 74 at a crucial time for Hampshire on day two.

Neil McKenzie hit thirteen 4s and three 6s in his 115 run score

And they were on a partnership score of 31 when, from a Darren Pattinson delivery, Pothas nicked the ball behind, only to be dropped by first Ali Brown and then Neil Edwards at 1st and 2nd slip. But the captain's luck ran out a few minutes later when, without having altered the score since his let off, Pothas (17) was caught by Edwards. Pattinson also got his revenge by being the one who bowled him.

Nevertheless McKenzie was batting - and battling - well. Despite a slight quad strain he'd made it to 74, and riled Andre Adams who, at one point, was told off by umpire John Steel for his outspoken views.

Cork came and went as he pulled to deep square leg. Balcombe was trapped lbw by Pattinson, but McKenzie stayed in, looking for every opportunity to be on strike. Two sixes to square leg, a four through cover and another four to third man moved McKenzie past the century mark and put Hampshire within 19 runs of the win.

Yet another four from McKenzie through midwicket, and Hampshire were 14 from victory. Moments later a four from Herath - who had been there mainly to support - took Hants to within 8.

Finally, with 7 balls to go, McKenzie swept a huge six over mid-wicket to win the match for Hampshire. He finished on 115 and Hampshire went away having turned the tables on previously top-of-the-table Notts.

Day Three

Summary
Nottinghamshire lead by 273 runs.
Nottinghamshire: 270 & 315
Hampshire: 305 & 7-0

Hampshire once again struggled to break down Nottinghamshire's middle order as Alex Hales hit 136, following an opening session that left the home side struggling on 79-4.

They will resume on day four with the not inconsiderable task of scoring 274 more runs to give them their first County Championship win of the season.

By their standards Nottinghamshire started well on day three, not losing their first wicket until they had, at least, registered 25 runs on the board. The loss of Shafayat (14) followed a string of early first-wicket losses in previous matches, including a 5-1 and a 12-1 in the reverse fixture at The Rose Bowl.

Apart from that, the Notts batsmen were in excellent form early on, finding holes in the field like it was Swiss cheese, and gobbling up the boundaries that resulted.

Less than an hour in, a side edge directly behind from Edwards saw the home side to 50 before the loss of Edwards (23) and Patel (0) seemed to turn the game in Hants' favour. Both were important wickets given Patel's recent heroics against the visitors in the Clydesdale Bank 40, and Edwards' bright start.

Click on the image above to see highlights of Wednesday's play

And as thoughts turned to lunch, a sleepy session was livened up when Dominic Cork bowled hard and fast at the legs of Mullaney (7) and the scoreboard started to reflect the home side's tough morning; 79-4 with a 44 run lead.

The focus, therefore, was on consolidation for Notts when they returned. First Ali Brown (15), then Chris Read (27 and a 95 partnership) combined effectively with Alex Hales as the youngster dug in, hitting twelve 4s and eking out the runs.

It came as something of a surprise, then, when, just before tea, Hales reached his century with an extravagant 6 over long-off. It had taken him more than three-and-a-half hours and just short of 200 balls, but Hales was enjoying his afternoon, knowing he'd already reached a career best.

And the good times continued as Hales beat his way to 136, at one point he and Paul Franks making the most of a new ball to hit four 4s in one over.

Dominic Cork took the vital wicket of Alex Hales

But then the seemingly impossible happened. A slow delivery from Cork was hit to short extra cover and Hales was on his way. He left the field with his team on 264-7 - 229 ahead. Hampshire hopes raised that they could avoid a 250 run chase on day four.

But it wasn't to be. The Nottinghamshire lower order came in and started swinging beligerantly at whatever came their way. Franks took 44 balls to reach his 45 score, while Andre Adams finished on 26 not out.

The home side finished on 315, setting Hampshire a target of 281 to win inside 100 overs. Sean Ervine and Dominic Cork were the pick of the bowlers with 4 for 31 and 85 respectively.

Jimmy Adams and Liam Dawson will resume on day four having seen out the remaining 2 overs of the day.

Day Two

Summary
Hampshire lead by 35 runs.
Nottinghamshire: 270
Hampshire: 305

A slow-scoring day was still anything but boring as the Trent Bridge crowd saw on-pitch fall-outs, a two-wicket over, several very strong lbw appeals turned down and very nearly a Jimmy Adams century.

In the end, though, slow and steady did the trick as Hampshire finished the day on 305 - 35 runs ahead. A Jimmy Adams 96 and a valiant Neil McKenzie 55 were the pick of the bunch, while Notts' Andre Adams (4-56) and Darren Pattinson (3-58) bowled well to peg Hants back.

Having lost Liam Dawson the previous day, Hampshire were keen to make a good start and not lose too many early wickets on day two. But a mere 20 minutes in that plan was in tatters as Monday’s hero James Tomlinson prodded a defensive shot off Darren Pattinson straight into the hands of Notts wicket keeper, Chris Read.

Tomlinson went for 5 and was replaced by Chris Benham. In the hour and a half that followed a mostly unremarkable passage of play was disturbed when Jimmy Adams was dropped on 37 as he edged to Neil Edwards at 2nd slip. Apart from that, the visitors had looked solid without being brilliant.

And with lunch-time fast approaching, a couple of lovely boundaries to fine leg from both Benham and Adams helped pick up the pace and cut Hampshire's chase down to sub-200. The batsmen left the field on 82-2 and 188 runs behind.

Click on the image above to watch highlights of Tuesday's play

The next session started in much the same fashion as the previous one with Adams and Benham keeping things tight.

Landmarks came and went almost un-noticed as the partnership raised 50, then Adams celebrated his half-century and finally, with an Adams boundary through point, Hampshire had 100 runs on the board.

On the odd occasion the Hampshire men did take a risk the home team’s impatience saw them make rash decisions. A dropped catch from Read saw Benham off the hook on 20, while one optimistic attempt at a run-out ended with Steven Mullaney and Andre Adams having a very public disagreement. Another incident saw Pattinson gift Hants an extra run with a wild over-throw and, sensing the frustration in the field, the batsmen picked up the pace again with 4’s to all areas of the ground.

Adams had to be patient, but eventually made 96 off 213 balls, including seventeen 4s.

The new ball stemmed the flow temporarily as Samit Patel enjoyed a maiden first over, but a 4 through cover and a 6 over midwicket off the next two deliveries saw Jimmy Adams reassert control.

The partnership made 100 off 285 deliveries and the visitors were 150-2 but alas, it wasn’t to last. A disastrous 20 minute spell saw Benham out for 38 and culminated in two wickets in one Franks over. It was heartbreak for Jimmy Adams who fell 4 short of a century, but James Vince will have felt little better when, 4 balls later, he was out for a duck; Hants 168-5.

The two South Africans - Nic Pothas and Neil McKenzie – were charged with leading the recovery, and slowly but surely they went about their business. With an hour to go McKenzie brought up his 50 with a sweet boundary through mid-wicket. It was his twelfth 4 from the 64 balls he'd faced.

Neil McKenzie scored 55 including twelve 4s

When, ten balls later, he was trapped lbw by Pattinson, and not long after that Pothas (22) went for a controversial lbw that looked way too high, it was with a sense of achievement that the pair left the field, and a sense of optimism that Ervine and Cork entered it.

The new boys would make up the remaining 21 run deficit with fours through square leg, over gully and edged to fine leg, before Cork edged Adams to Read and left on 11.

Balcombe (4) and Herath (1) were mainly bystanders as Ervine added the gloss - his 31 not out giving Hampshire a 35-run lead going into the third day.

Bonus Points: Hampshire 6, Nottinghamshire 5.

Day One

Summary
Nottinghamshire lead by 247 runs.
Nottinghamshire: 270
Hampshire: 23-1

James Tomlinson took the plauditson day one with an excellent 5-66 as Hampshire bowled out Nottinghamshire for 270 in their County Championship match at Trent Bridge.

Hampshire won the toss and put Nottinghamshire in to bat. But no sooner had skipper, Nic Pothas done so, than his bowling attack went about relieving the home side of that duty.

Tomlinson - in for David Griffiths - and Dominic Cork were the Notts’ fans public enemy number one as they took the wickets of Neil Edwards for four and his replacement Alex Hales for a duck. Barely 20 minutes in and Notts were 6-2.

Click on the image above to see highlights of Monday's play

Hants fans may have feared the worst when Samit Patel came to the crease at number 4. After all, Patel had been instrumental in the Outlaws victory over the Royals on Sunday with a knock of 96. But any concerns about a repeat performance were banished when a Cork delivery was edged behind to Pothas and Patel was walking for 11.

At this point Cork was on 2-12 off 5 overs and Hampshire were looking good. So when the home side’s other opener Bilal Shafayat went for just 14 having nicked Tomlinson to Jimmy Adams at slip, hopes were high for a good day’s play; Notts 29-4.

As Steven Mullaney and Ali Brown took over at the crease and David Balcombe and Sean Ervine assumed bowling responsibilities, however, both the wickets and the run-rate slowed. But just as the crowd started siphoning out to get in the lunch queue early Brown was trapped lbw by the Zimbabwean.

Notts went in at lunch on 108-5 with Tomlinson leading the way for the visitors with figures of 2-21.

Steven-Mullaney-Whites-Notts-Bat-GETTY

Steven Mullaney batted well for Notts, reaching 97

And things got better for the bowler, when he was edged to Pothas by home captain Chris Read not long after the break. At 147-6 the home side again shut up shop and what followed was a sleepy afternoon, punctuated by mostly singles and the odd boundary.

Mullaney and Franks hauled themselves over the 200 mark to pick up their first bonus point, and shortly after tea it looked as though Mullaney might pick up his century. But on 97 he edged a Balcombe delivery to Pothas, and in a brief cameo the fit-again Andre Adams hit a couple of 4s before being caught at mid-off by Herath; Balcombe once again involved.

Franks fought hard, ending on 57 not out, but the rest was a mere formality. Pattinson was caught plumb in front by Tomlinson and Shreck followed in exactly the same way from the very next ball. Notts were all out for 270, and Tomlinson’s hat-trick would have to wait, but his 5-66 off 25 overs put a smile on the visiting fans’ faces.

In the half hour or so that remained Hampshire made 23-1. Young Liam Dawson (4), in for the absent Michael Carberry, half-heartedly reached for a Pattinson delivery only to nick it to Read. He was replaced by the hero of the hour, Tomlinson, but he had little chance to add to his success. He resumes tomorrow on 1 alongside Jimmy Adams on 16. Hampshire currently 247 runs behind.

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