County Championship: Josh Davey takes five wickets as Somerset see off stubborn Hampshire
- Published
LV= County Championship Group Two, The Ageas Bowl, Southampton (day four): |
Hampshire 79 & 258: Barker 52*; Davey 5-30, Overton 5-66 |
Somerset 336: Overton 74, Abell 64; Barker 4-67 & 2-0 |
Somerset (22 pts) beat Hampshire (3 pts) by 10 wickets |
Josh Davey's five-wicket haul helped Somerset record a fourth win in five County Championship games by seeing off stubborn Hampshire at Southampton.
The hosts gave themselves a chance of batting out a draw as Keith Barker (52no), James Vince (42) and Felix Organ frustrated the Somerset attack.
But Davey (5-30) eventually quelled their resistance as Hampshire were dismissed not long after tea for 258.
That set Somerset a target of two runs, Eddie Byrom completing the formalities.
Hampshire ultimately paid the price for their abject first innings total of 79, a collapse which appears even stranger in hindsight given how gallantly they battled back with the bat on the final day.
When Davey ended Joe Weatherley's 209-ball, four and a half hour 44 by having him caught behind and quickly followed up by trapping Liam Dawson lbw for nought, the game appeared up.
Having resumed on 110-4, those wickets reduced Hampshire to 134-6 but captain Vince rallied, occupying the crease for almost three hours before becoming Craig Overton's solitary victim of the day and fifth of the innings.
Wicketkeeper Lewis McManus followed six overs later, caught off Davey by James Hildreth at slip, as Hampshire slipped to 186-8 before tea, seemingly staring an innings defeat in the face.
However, Barker and Organ, who faced 108 balls over two hours for his seven runs, put on a two-hour ninth-wicket stand of 64 to revive the hosts' hopes of salvaging a draw.
Davey finally removed Organ, caught at slip by Overton, and trapped last man Mohammad Abbas lbw without scoring before Byrom hit the winning runs off Hampshire's first delivery to help Somerset keep pace with Group Two leaders Gloucestershire.