Hampshire on course to beat Worcestershire
Hampshire all-rounder Liam Dawson has been in fine form with bat and ball
- Published
Vitality County Championship Division One, Utilita Bowl (day three)
Hampshire 462: Gubbins 201*, Dawson 109 & 204: Dawson 51; Virdi 4-108
Worcestershire 273: Brookes 132; Dawson 5-88 & 117-5: Libby 55*
Worcestershire (4 pts) need 277 more runs to beat Hampshire (8 pts)
Liam Dawson returned 50 wickets in a County Championship season for the first time after scoring an eighth half-century of the season as Hampshire closed in on victory over Worcestershire.
Spinning all-rounder Dawson reached a half-century of scalps by adding Kashif Ali and Adam Hose to his tally – in doing so beating the 49 wickets he claimed last season – with no spinner in the country taking more this year.
Along with his bowling exploits, no one has passed 50 more times than Dawson in Division One in 2024 as he moved to 907 runs with a 51 which set Worcestershire 394 runs to win.
The visitors ended the day on 117-5, still 277 runs short of victory, with Jake Libby undefeated on 55.
Having elected against enforcing the follow-on the previous evening, Hampshire’s second innings lacked fluency but still left them with a healthy lead.
The inability to score runs quickly was largely down to Joe Leach, who took 3-17 across his first two spells.
The 33-year-old is retiring after next week’s fixture against Lancashire, but proved he was still as skilful as ever to pick up Hampshire’s top three.
Toby Albert fell in the second over of the morning when he was strangled down leg and was caught behind while Fletcha Middleton lasted a further four overs before he was caught and bowled while playing across one.
First-innings double centurion Nick Gubbins was then caught at slip after the ball had looped off the wicketkeeper’s glove.
Ben Brown quickly followed when Amar Virdi straightened one to pin him but James Vince was keeping the scoreboard progressing with his 44.
Vince dragged Virdi onto his own stumps while sweeping but Tom Prest and Dawson returned after lunch to build a 72-run partnership at just under a run-a-ball.
Dawson followed his first innings century and five-wicket haul with a 63-ball fifty but fell soon after when Logan van Beek destroyed his stumps.
Things then turned frenetic as James Fuller swished behind, Prest was leg before when stuck on the crease to Virdi, Kyle Abbott was bowled on the swing and Felix Organ was run out after a strike confusion with Mo Abbas as Hampshire stumbled to 204 all out.
With an imposing target facing Worcestershire, Gareth Roderick failed to help by getting bowled by Abbott in the sixth over.
Kashif Ali was then removed by Dawson lbw before two fine slip catches from Vince accounted for Rob Jones and Adam Hose – the latter was Dawson’s 50th wicket of the season.
Libby had staunchly battled to 49, but when initially trying to reach fifty, he ran out his partner Brett D’Oliveira before eventually hitting the milestone with a single.
Libby remained unbeaten at close, with Ethan Brookes hanging on alongside him.
Report supplied by ECB Reporters' Network.
