Fuller guides Hampshire to 300 at Warwickshire

James Fuller made 5 and 1 in Hampshire's defeat at Nottinghamshire in their previous game

Rothesay County Championship Division One, Edgbaston (day one)

Hampshire 300: Fuller 52*, Stoneman 48, Dawson 46; Barnard 4-56, Hannon-Dalby 3-47

Warwickshire 27-2: Davies 16; Abbott 1-13, Wheal 1-13

Warwickshire (3 pts) trail Hampshire (2 pts) by 273 runs

Match scorecard

Lower-order resistance led by James Fuller lifted Hampshire to 300 all out after their batting fragility had surfaced again on the opening day of their County Championship game against Warwickshire at Edgbaston.

Bowled out twice for under 200 in last week's 366-run defeat by Nottinghamshire at Trent Bridge, Hampshire this time dipped to 130-5 and 223-8 before Fuller's bullish unbeaten half-century (52 not out from 52 balls) marshalled the addition of 77 for the last two wickets.

Ed Barnard took 4-56 and Olly Hannon-Dalby 3-47 for a Warwickshire team full of confidence after their strong start to the season.

They then wobbled themselves, however, as they lost both openers before closing the first day on 27-2 in reply.

Hampshire elected to bat but lost Fletcha Middleton in the fourth over of the day when he edged Hannon-Dalby to second slip and Rob Yates took his 147th catch for Warwickshire.

Mark Stoneman and Nick Gubbins gritted out 62 from 24 overs but, with the lunch interval beckoning, that fragility kicked in.

Gubbins edged an outswinger from Beau Webster to wicketkeeper Alex Davies and Tom Prest nicked a firm-footed jab at Barnard.

Hannon-Dalby struck the biggest blow with the 32nd ball after lunch when the obdurate Stoneman (48) gave Davies his third catch.

Ben Brown followed the pattern of batters getting in then getting out he when dug in for 29 from 56 balls but then dragged a drive at Webster on to his stumps.

At 130-5, Hampshire were in jeopardy of coming in under 200 again, on a good batting pitch, but Liam Dawson and Toby Albert applied themselves to add 68 in 19 overs.

Both then perished in the space of 10 balls. Dawson edged Barnard high to second slip for 46 and Albert flicked Tazeem Ali to mid-wicket to give Yates his 148th and 149th catches for the Bears.

That left the sun-soaked crowd on tenterhooks to see if Yates would get the opportunity to take his 150th catch for Warwickshire. They didn't have to wait long before Kyle Abbott drove mightily at Barnard but sliced to second slip where Yates triumphantly seized the ball above his head.

That was 223-8 and Hampshire appeared well under par but the tail wagged. Former Warwickshire loanee Brad Wheal counter-attacked for a 28-ball 24 before falling lbw, struck on the back pad, to the impressive Barnard.

John Turner, recalled to the side in place of Sonny Baker, helped Fuller add 34 before edging Hannon-Dalby behind.

Warwickshire were left with eight overs to bat during which Hampshire hit back hard.

Yates' day took a downward twist when he was trapped lbw by Abbott and, with 16 balls left in the day, Davies top-edged an inexplicable heave at Wheal and Middleton took an excellent catch running in from deep backward point.

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Warwickshire all-rounder Ed Barnard said:

"The pitch got a little bit flat at times but you always felt, as a bowler, that you could get something out of it. I thought we bowled brilliantly.

"Ethan Bamber bowled really well without any luck. He didn't take any wickets today but if he bowls like that every time he will take plenty. He has shown everyone what he can do and has been a brilliant addition to our squad.

"It was a bit frustrating at the end but Fuller batted really well and managed the tail nicely, but I think if you had offered us 300 at the start of the day, with them having chosen to bat first, we would have snatched your hand off."

Hampshire all-rounder James Fuller said:

"A total of 300 is probably a little bit below par on that pitch but taking those two wickets tonight has probably got us back in the game. We were in a bit of trouble but then Daws [Liam Dawson] batted really nicely and there were a few 20s down the order and little partnerships that got us up to 300.

"It was nice to get some runs at the end. Brad Wheal and John Turner batted really well because it wasn't easy out there. Barnard was swinging the ball at 80 overs old, so those two guys dug in really well and those partnerships really helped us. The ball was doing so much and it was challenging at times so 300 is okay, but we still wanted more runs - we're under par."