County Championship: Hampshire left-armer Keith Barker takes 4-23 to leave Bears at risk

Bears old boy Keith Barker has now taken 38 County Championship wickets for Hampshire this season

Warwickshire old boy Keith Barker took 4-23 - including three quick wickets in one burst - to put Hampshire well on top against the Bears going into day four.

But Barker, second top Division One wicket taker with 38 this season, was forced to work hard for his scalps along with Mohammad Abbas (3-31) and Liam Dawson (2-38).

In-form Michael Burgess (58) and Alex Davies (46) were the chief occupiers of the crease on a turgid day of low scoring as reigning champions Warwickshire, 11-0 overnight, batted all day for just 201 runs to avoid the threat of an innings defeat.

Dom Sibley reverted to type after his 56-ball half-century in the first innings by soaking up 34 balls, before he dangled his bat at an Abbas delivery which angled across him.

Without top scorer Sam Hain, away with England Lions this week, and with Sibley already departed, there were fears Warwickshire could collapse in a similar manner to the first innings.

But Davies, dropped at second slip early on, stood up for 215 long, dogged minutes - and Chris Benjamin, another natural stroke maker, tuck with him for almost an hour and a half before left-armer Barker eventually got him caught behind just before lunch.

Spinner Dawson removed Dan Mousley and Will Rhodes, both LBW with identical sharp turning and low bouncing balls, before Abbas ended Matt Lamb's stay by bereaving his leg and off stumps of their triplet.

In trying to reach his 50, Davies was then caught by a screamer from Aneurin Donald at point off Abbas, who had then taken 2-12 in a spell of five overs.

But Hampshire were then frustrated by first-innings top scorer Nathan McAndrew and Warwickshire's second leading run-getter Burgess.

They added 81, Warwickshire's highest partnership of the match, with little issue, despite the second new ball. Burgess picked up his fifth 50-plus score of the campaign in 103 deliveries.

Barker was the man to go bang-bang this time. Burgess, who had been dropped on six, fell toeing a drive to Donald at point before McAndrew tickled behind.

Oliver Hannon-Dalby then lobbed a simple catch to square leg to give Barker his third wicket and leave Warwickshire closing on 212-9, just 59 ahead.

Hampshire fast bowler Keith Barker:

"It was a tough day out there. We squeezed them and tried to make it as hard as possible to get past our score.

"It wasn't doing anything in the air, the pitch had flattened out and the usual change of balls meant there wasn't much going on but we just tried to keep it tight.

"I'm not fussed about my wicket tally, as long as we win and bowl teams out I'm happy. I want to do well every game, no matter who it is against. It's nice to take wickets against my old club but it isn't like they are old teammates - there are a lot of different players now."

Warwickshire head coach Mark Robinson:

"We have given it a go and had the right attitude but we have been outgunned. They have three bowlers who have 450-however-many-wickets between them and we are light in that sense.

"We can have regrets about our position in the game, because we set out to win every game, but you can't fault the effort and commitment. It is very attritional. It has got slower as the game has gone on.

"Al Davies had the most success in the middle and later on Burgess, supported by Nathan McAndrew, showed what was possible. The goal was to bat all day but you never know. The last two will get as many as they can then we will go out and do what we can. We will take it as deep as we can."

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters' Network.