County Championship: Colin de Grandhomme makes 174 not out as Hampshire control Surrey

Keith Barker's three wickets included two in the space of three balls as Surrey slumped to 34-4

Colin de Grandhomme became the eighth Hampshire player to score a century on his first-class debut for the county as his side dominated Surrey.

The New Zealand all-rounder made a career-best 174 not out as Hampshire pressed on from 229-7 overnight to 488.

Felix Organ (67) and number 11 Brad Wheal (45) both shared partnerships of more than 100 with De Grandhomme.

Keith Barker (3-15) then struck with the new ball to reduce Surrey to 42-4 before rain and bad light stopped play.

Hampshire, who sit third in Group Two, will have boosted their chances of qualifying for the top division by finishing in the top two as they lead fourth-placed Surrey by 446 runs.

First they posted a big first-innings total thanks to their tail wagging and then removed openers Mark Stoneman and Rory Burns, as well as Ryan Patel and Jamie Smith before the close.

Earlier De Grandhomme's 13th first-class career century surpassed his previous best of 144 not out and was his first in the format for nearly three years.

First he added 127 for the eighth wicket with Organ and then despite narrowly missing out on a fifth batting bonus point, he and right-arm seamer Wheal put on 114 for the 10th wicket, a new record against Surrey, as the Scotland international made his own career-best score.

Surrey's reply got off to a poor start when Stoneman was dismissed first ball by Kyle Abbott to a fine catch at second slip by Joe Weatherley.

England Test opener Burns faired little better as he was also caught by Weatherley for one to give Barker his first wicket. The left-armer then accounted for Patel and Smith in the space of three balls as first Patel was bowled offering no shot and then Smith saw his off stump removed with a delivery from around the wicket.

Hampshire seam bowler Brad Wheal told BBC Radio Solent:

"We were in a pretty good position coming into the day, but we knew we had to score some more runs to put Surrey under pressure.

"It was great just to be out there, Colin's (de Grandhomme) a fantastic player to bat with and it was good fun to score some runs.

"We were just looking to score runs all the time and be positive. Any runs from the tail is good.

"The table is looking really tight at the moment, so it would be good to go into next week's last game against Gloucestershire with a win under our belt."

Surrey all-rounder Rikki Clarke told BBC Radio London:

"A very tough day. The position we were in at the start, it was all about taking those early wickets and it didn't go to plan and we're behind the eight-ball a bit now.

"It didn't really go for the bowlers to be fair when they tried to put the ball in the right places, but we could've been better. We could've worked harder to break those partnerships.

"They've then come out on top after how they've performed with the bat and backed it up with the ball and Keith (Barker) has produced a terrific spell.

"But we've got to rock up in the morning and put in some fight and grit, bat time really on what is still a very good pitch."