County Championship: Hampshire earn Somerset draw as Nick Gubbins digs deep

The players agreed on a draw after Nick Gubbins reached a deserved half-century

Nick Gubbins produced a four-hour defensive masterclass to earn Hampshire a backs-to-the-wall draw on the final day of their County Championship match with Somerset at Taunton.

The visitors slipped to 115-7, from an overnight 34-2, needing 55 more runs to avoid an innings defeat, before Gubbins (50 not out) and Liam Dawson (68 not out) produced a match-saving stand of exactly 100 either side of tea.

Gubbins' marathon vigil occupied 241 balls, while Dawson hit 14 fours and a six. Together they frustrated a home bowling attack in which 19-year-old off-spinner Shoaib Bashir, who claimed 3-67 from 37 overs, excelled.

Somerset's young team, including three teenagers, had to settle for 12 points from a game they dominated, while their opponents took 10.

Hampshire began the day needing 136 to avoid an innings defeat and soon lost first-innings hero Felix Organ, who drove at a ball from left-arm seamer Alfie Ogborne and edged to Tom Lammonby at third slip.

No rain had been forecast, but a shower arrived at 11:20 BST with the scoreboard reading 45-3. Nine overs were lost before play resumed at noon.

Fletcha Middleton had looked largely untroubled in moving to 29 off 80 balls, but he departed with the total on 58, bowled by Bashir looking to play off the back foot through the on side.

Visiting skipper James Vince had held himself back to bat at six and lasted only four balls before glancing a catch to Kasey Aldridge, shrewdly positioned at leg slip.

Ben Brown counter-attacked with three fours in moving to 14 by the time a second shower saw lunch taken a few minutes early. At the interval, Bashir had figures of 3-17 from 12.4 overs and Hampshire trailed by 92 runs.

Three more overs were lost before a 13:45 restart. Brown greeted the resumption with a cover drive for four as Bashir completed his 13th over and it was soon clear that Gubbins was setting his stall out to play the anchor role.

The sixth-wicket pair built a half-century stand in 97 balls, foiling the combined efforts of spinners Bashir and Dom Bess and forcing Somerset skipper Tom Abell to recall seamer Aldridge to his attack.

It proved an inspired move as Brown got a touch to a full delivery and wicketkeeper James Rew took a two-handed catch down the leg side.

Three balls later, James Fuller fell for a duck as Aldridge found an inside edge through to Rew and suddenly Hampshire were 115-7, still 55 away from making their opponents bat again.

Dawson got under way with boundaries off successive balls from Bess. Bashir was now bowling with five fielders clustered around the bat, but meeting solid resistance from Gubbins.

He had battled away for 157 balls for his 31 runs by the time tea was taken with Hampshire 135-7, having reduced the deficit to 35. Dawson was the aggressor after the break as the pair took their stand past 50.

Somerset turned to the occasional spin of first Tom Lammonby and then Andy Umeed for an over each without success ahead of taking the second new ball at 167-7.

Bashir was handed it and Gubbins and Dawson still had work to do. A Gubbins boundary through the off-side took his side into the slenderest of leads.

Left-hander Gubbins set himself to face most deliveries from the off-spinner, preventing him exploiting the rough outside right-hander Dawson's off stump. By the time the last hour and final 16 overs were signalled, Hampshire led by 17 runs.

Dawson's 10th four, hammered through the leg side off Bess, took him to a precious half-century off 115 balls. Gubbins followed to the same landmark off 237 deliveries and Somerset, who may yet get to meet Hampshire again at T20 Finals Days this weekend, knew it was not going to be their day.

Somerset skipper Tom Abell:

"We couldn't quite force victory, but in all other ways it was an incredibly positive performance. All three 19-year-olds in the team did themselves real credit.

"Alfie Ogborne got a pretty good maiden first-class wicket in James Vince and kept running in and testing the batsmen.

"Shoaib Bashir had a superb match with bat and ball and we are running out of superlatives for James Rew. It is brilliant having him in the side.

"The way we played with such a young team shows that the future of Somerset cricket is really bright. Now we go to Edgbaston for Finals Day determined to play our best cricket and lift the trophy."

Hampshire's Nick Gubbins:

"It wasn't a typical innings for me. It wasn't an innings I would want to repeat very often, but every time you play an important role for the team it is satisfying.

"It hasn't been the best of weeks for us. We knew that having conceded 500 in their first innings we would have to bat well and at times that wasn't the case.

"I felt comfortable facing Bashir because I didn't have the added problem of the rough outside a right-hander's off stump.

"There were some footmarks created by their left-arm seamer at that end. There was a bit of turn off the straight, but not as much as out of the rough."

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.