County Championship 2025. Division 1. Hampshire v Somerset 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st April. Southampton.

Hampshire. M.G. Stoneman, F.S. Middleton, N.R.T. Gubbins, T.J. Prest, T.E. Albert, B.C. Brown (c) (w), L.A, Dawson, B.R. Hampton, J.K. Fuller, K.J. Abbott, B.T.J. Wheal.

Somerset. A.M. Vaughan, S.R. Dickson, T.A. Lammonby, T.B. Abell, T. Banton, J.E.K. Rew (c) (w), K.L. Aldridge, C. Overton, M. Pretorius, M.J. Leach, A.R.J. Ogborne.

Overnight. Somerset 94 for 6.

Second day – Hampshire take charge

Three quarters of an hour into the afternoon session, the match was even. Somerset had spent the morning extending their overnight 94 for 6 to 184 all out, in part courtesy of an innings of 47 not out from Migael Pretorius and a last wicket partnership, also of 47, between Pretorius and Alfie Ogborne. With lunch taken, Hampshire began the afternoon confidently and looked intent on taking control of the match. But then, Fletcha Middleton was caught behind driving at Ogborne and, three balls later, Mark Stoneman was bowled, his middle stump laid flat by Pretorius. Hampshire were 38 for 2, still 146 behind and Somerset had an opening.

As Tom Prest walked to the wicket, the Hampshire supporter behind me said, “That must mean Albert is injured and probably won’t bat.” And with that, Pretorius bowled to Prest. The ball burst through Prest’s defence and struck him squarely on the pad. Pretorius roared in concert with an erupting keeper and slip cordon before the appeal was cut abruptly short just as my eye caught sight of the umpire’s right arm stretched firmly to the horizontal. Would it have risen to the vertical with finger outstretched had Pretorius not overstepped? Would Somerset have continued to break down the Hampshire batting had Prest been out? All that can be said is that Pretorius looked devastated by that raised arm. And, as became apparent as the afternoon developed, in that moment, the opportunity for Somerset to break back into the match after their first day collapse passed by. “If only …” the thought, “If only.” Oh, the great unknowables and might-have-beens of cricket.

The day had begun with a thirty-minute delay after heavy overnight rain and very wet ground outside the hotel at breakfast. When it did start, there was further disappointment for Somerset to add to the first day collapse. Craig Overton, replacing Kasey Aldridge, out to the final ball of the first day, soon followed, caught behind in the second over defending against Brad Wheal. Somerset 96 for 7. Overton 0. As if to emphasise the collapse in Somerset’s fortunes from 69 for 1, Overton’s wicket left three noughts in a row glaring down from the scorecard shown on the scoreboard. Perhaps because of his stickability credentials, Jack Leach came in ahead of Pretorius to join Tom Abell who had held an end through much of the previous day’s collapse.

Undeterred by the loss of Overton, Leach and Abell attacked. Leach struck Wheal for three fours in three overs, a neat steer past the slips, the bat playing the ball sharply into the ground before it raced to the boundary, and two sharp, whip-like cuts through backward point off successive balls, again playing the ball down. A top order batter would not have played those strokes more effectively. Abell used the drive, through the on side off Kyle Abbott and the covers off Wheal, both for four. A partnership was in the making but before it could blossom, James Fuller produced a trace of movement off the seam and defeated Abell’s defensive stroke. Leg before wicket. Abell walked off, as he always does, immediately the umpire’s finger was raised. Somerset 129 for 8. Abell 21 and Somerset in disarray. Leach was still looking secure and in control, but was soon struck on the pad by a Fuller inswinger. He looked astounded to be given out leg before wicket. A replay suggests no issue with the decision, although it was impossible to tell from the replay if the ball had shaved or passed the inside edge. Umpire’s call. Somerset 136 for 9. Leach 20.

Pretorius’s innings was not quite the swashbuckling affair with which he was becoming associated at Somerset. There were just three fours, one an edged drive at catchable height off Brett Hampton, Hampshire’s New Zealand pace bowler, which flew straight through first slip when there was only a second, the latter day practice of leaving a gap in the slip cordon costing Hampshire. The other two were also drives, both off the middle, one of which, off Wheal, was driven through extra cover with a beautifully flowing bat. Hampshire soon set a deep field for Pretorius resulting in most of his runs coming from frequent singles and twos, a higher proportion of twos than the norm because of the huge Utilita Bowl playing area. Ogborne, concentrating on defence, was eventually bowled by Wheal having given Pretorius the time to at least pull Somerset’s score to a level of some sort of respectability. Somerset 184. Ogborne 6 from 48 balls in a minute under an hour. Pretorius 47 not out. That that came from 40 balls is an indication of the gaps which Hampshire left and the frequency with which Pretorius was able to find them.

I spent much of the lunch break on the outfield despite the overnight rain. It was the first time in many visits I had been on the outfield at the Utilita Bowl. I was not the only one. One regular Hampshire supporter could not recall being invited out there either. He was beaming with delight and savouring every moment. The pitch looked very green, much greener than it did from the stands, perhaps putting Somerset’s 184 into perspective. There were no cones regulating where people could and could not go, just a few stewards and the common sense of regular attendees at Championship matches. There were a few children playing cricket with their parents, including two with one of the Hampshire players. Championship cricket is one of the few professional sporting arenas where players and spectators sometimes share the same space.

When Hampshire suddenly found themselves on 38 for 2 on a green pitch after it had looked like they were cruising, Somerset hopes rose. It was a fleeting moment, immediately punctured by that no ball to Prest. Hampshire soon took advantage. Prest drove Pretorius straight for four, “Well done boy,” said a Hampshire supporter, cut him through backward point for four more before another straight drive removed a stump at Pretorius’s end. A glance from Prest to the Hotel End boundary off Aldridge, who replaced Pretorius, was followed two balls later by an under edge cut for four from Gubbins and Hampshire it felt were on their way at 65 for 2. Somerset did have some minor successes. Overton beat Prest and Kasey Aldridge forced a bottom edge from a Gubbins pull which ran fine for four. The Hampshire supporters behind me though seemed relaxed about it all as they chatted continuously about football.

Prest and Gubbins were now batting steadily. As they picked the ball to hit, the score rose, uncomfortably so if you were a Somerset supporter. Overton was still running in fast from the Hotel End, but Prest drove him emphatically through the covers for four. Then, “Shot!” the cry when Prest drove Aldridge to the deep midwicket boundary. With the Hampshire innings quickly developing, Prest went to his fifty from 89 balls with another on drive off Aldridge, taking the Somerset lead below a hundred in the process. “Still 0-0,” said the man behind. When Ogborne replaced Overton, Gubbins pulled him for four twice in two balls bringing the comment, “Well done Gubbers,” the football for a moment taking a back seat. Hampshire reached 100 for 2 with a clip through midwicket from Prest off Aldridge and tea was suddenly upon us with the score at 116 for 2, Hampshire now just 68 behind.

The tea interval involved my usual circumnavigation. There were a lot of spectators at the Hotel End which was bathed in sunshine, while the Pavilion End was in the shade of Hampshire’s multi-storey Pavilion and unpleasantly cold. The Somerset supporters I encountered were despondent at their team’s prospects, under performing in their eyes for the second match in succession after the soul-destroying final day against Worcestershire. It was a far cry from the pre-season hopes that perhaps, just perhaps, this would be the Championship year. That prospect was a distant hope now. There was encouragement though for young and prospective young Hampshire supporters. “Free entry for all under-seventeens for the whole of this match. Bring your friends,” the teatime announcement.

The evening session was one of studious consolidation for Hampshire and further frustration for Somerset. It began well enough for Somerset when Pretorius drifted a ball into Prest and struck him on the pad. Hampshire 118 for 3. Prest 42. But from there it was all Hampshire. Somerset might have had a little more luck. The new batter, Liam Dawson, edged a drive off Pretorius through third slip when there were only two, although the ball would have bounced short of a third slip. Against Overton, Dawson drove and the ball flew through the air a couple of yards out of reach of Leach at backward point. There were a few beaten bats and one or two thick edges, but no more than might be expected in a session of play and Hampshire batted through to the close without losing another wicket. The Somerset bowlers kept their heads up, and as the afternoon progressed the Hampshire scoring rate slowed markedly, but wickets remained doggedly elusive.

There were short phases during which Hampshire attacked, but in the 32 overs bowled in the session, they scored 78 runs, less than two and a half an over. In the last hour, albeit in fading light, they scored at 1.8. Along the way, Dawson, repeatedly fed the strike by Gubbins, played with all the authority he seems to exude, at least when playing Somerset. He took two fours in an over from Pretorius, although one of those came from the edge that fell short of the empty third slip position. Ogborne in particular came in for some punishment, Dawson driving him off the back foot spectacularly through the covers for four. “Yes!” the shout from behind me, the football presumably over. Off the next ball, Dawson pulled him over long leg and into the sixth row of the stand bringing up Hampshire’s 150 in the process. In Ogborne’s next over, Dawson pulled him again, this time to fine leg and then drove him to straight deep midwicket. Twenty runs came from those two overs and suddenly Hampshire were within 20 runs of Somerset’s total. Gregory showed faith in Ogborne who repaid him by restricting Hampshire to three singles in his next over, although the fifty partnership was reached off the first of those singles.

From there, with the Somerset bowlers continuing to press, Hampshire retreated into their shell, perhaps in the fading light playing for the morning. In the remaining 16 overs played before bad light ended the day, there were just three boundaries, 15 singles and a leg bye. “The run rate is plummeting,” observed one Hampshire supporter after one period of five overs during which only two singles were scored. Gubbins went to his fifty from 111 balls with a single to long leg off Overton. Aldridge comprehensively beat Dawson, a rare Somerset success, to applause from Somerset supporters who had gathered in the sunny seats at the Hotel End. As the close approached, with a pull to long leg off Pretorius for a single, Dawson reached fifty from 92 balls. It was cricket for the Championship aficionado.

As the light darkened, the floodlights came on and shortly before the early close, with Somerset persisting with two slips despite Hampshire’s growing grip on the game, Hampshire went into the lead with a thick edge along the ground from Dawson which ran through the empty third slip position. Finally, the players were forced off 13 overs early, eight having been added to the day’s allocation because of time lost on the first day. With Hampshire having moved ten runs into the lead, for the second match in succession, Somerset faced the prospect of a long two days of struggle to save the match, unless a wet forecast for the final day came to their aid.

Close. Somerset 184 (M. Pretorius 47*, J.K. Fuller 4-42, B.T.J. Wheal 4-46). Hampshire 194 for 3. Hampshire lead by 10 runs with seven first innings wickets standing.