County Championship: Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson scores century against Somerset

Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson scored his 13th first-class century

Liam Dawson overtook his best County Championship runs tally since 2015 with an unbeaten 109 in front of England selector Luke Wright on a slow-paced day between Hampshire and Somerset.

Dawson has enjoyed a successful season with bat and ball with 667 runs and 28 left-arm spin wickets to his name in Division One.

His second century of the campaign handed Hampshire a slim advantage after day one at the Ageas Bowl, after Nick Gubbins' lumbering 49 off 132 balls.

Fast bowlers Jack Brooks claimed three wickets and Lewis Gregory two as the Somerset attack refused to allow their hosts to score at above three runs per over. They closed on 282-7.

Hampshire chose to bat, but before play started the two teams stood for a minute of silence in memory of Heath Streak, who died aged 49 earlier on Sunday.

Zimbabwean Streak played 19 first-class and 21 List A matches for Hampshire as an overseas signing in 1995. Their players wore black armbands during the day's play.

Fletcha Middleton - a star of Hampshire's progression to the Metro Bank One-Day Cup final last month - fell to his third delivery, as Brooks found some away movement and the outside edge to second slip.

The recovery set the platform, and tempo, for the day. Watchful and safe batting, against accurate but unthreatening bowling on a slow pitch.

On his first Championship outing for Hampshire, Toby Albert showed promise in his 26 during a 50-run stand with Gubbins before tamely chipping to point.

James Vince belayed the conditions by attractively cover driving his first ball for four. His 34 in 49 was a rare attacking spell of the day, alongside out-the-blue sixes from Albert and Gubbins.

Vince overtook the plodding Gubbins in 17 overs before lunch but was given out caught behind off an inside edge before Tom Prest was leg before for a six-ball duck.

Gubbins, who has a strike-rate of under 40 in Division One this season, was particularly turgid between lunch and his dismissal.

In those 100 minutes, he scored 20 runs before falling a run shy of his seventh half-century when Shoaib Bashir's quicker ball crashed into the stumps. He was replaced by Ben Brown who slowed things even more, with four off 42 deliveries in 54 minutes before Gregory had him caught behind.

Dawson manoeuvred things in his typically understated style, his 111-ball fifty showing composure, skill, and a sound technique but little unneeded extravagance.

The only question mark on his innings was caught and bowled appeal off Brooks. Brooks claimed the catch, Dawson insisted it was a bump ball, and the umpires sided with the batter. Replays were inconclusive so the benefit of the doubt towards the batter proved sensible.

James Fuller accompanied him in a 54-run stand before Brooks struck him on the pads with the new ball, but Dawson marched towards the 13th three-figure score of his career and past 9,000 first-class runs.

Due to the sluggish nature of the surface, Dawson dominated his scoring square of the wicket, with all but two of his 13 boundaries coming from pulls, jabs, sweeps or cuts.

He and Keith Barker accelerated towards close, putting on 56 together, to cash out the dividends earned from the earlier graft in the day.

Typically though, the final over of the day was a maiden, the 24th no run over of the day.

Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.