Hampshire and Essex frustrated by rain-hit day

Shane Snater enjoyed an unbeaten 33 cameo with the bat for Essex - and then broke through with the ball

Vitality County Championship, Division One, Utilita Bowl (day three)

Essex 438-8 dec: Cox 141, Elgar 136; Abbas 3-76

Hampshire 40-1: Snater 1-15

Hampshire (2pts) trail Essex (4pts) by 398 runs with nine first innings wickets remaining

Match scorecard

Toby Albert and the rain frustrated County Championship title-chasing Essex against Hampshire.

Only 34 overs were bowled at Southampton after a rain-soaked morning and afternoon but after Sam Cook and Shane Snater had taken their partnership to 49 runs and Essex to 438-8, skipper Tom Westley declared.

Hampshire lost Fletcha Middleton, but Albert dug in with 18 from 69 balls, with Nick Gubbins even more defensive in his eight off 58.

They ended the day on 40-1, 398 runs in arrears, with the likelihood this will turn into a final-day bonus-point match, unless the hosts fail to avoid the follow-on.

Storm Lilian deposited a significant amount of rain on Saturday morning and the action started after tea.

The first part of the session was a battle for bonus points before a declaration. Hampshire needed one wicket for another point, Essex needed 46 runs.

Neither came to pass but Snater and Cook had a good go at their part of the equation, putting on an unbroken 49.

Hampshire had a big chance to claim maximum bowling points but Cook was put down by Tom Prest at first slip with what became the penultimate delivery before Westley called his side in.

The blue skies suggested batting might be relatively straightforward but Cook and Jamie Porter initially put Hampshire's young opening batters Middleton and Albert under the microscope.

It took 23 balls before Albert scored the first run of the innings and when Snater entered the attack in the ninth over, only five runs had been scored.

The Dutchman made the breakthrough. Helped by some low bounce he caught the outside edge of Middleton's bat, with Michael Pepper brilliantly catching on the forward dive.

However, Albert and Gubbins showed resistance thereafter and were helped as the ball aged.

Report supplied by the ECB Reporters Network