Hampshire thrash Warwickshire to go top of the table

At the Ageas Bowl Hampshire (515) beat Warwickshire (254 & 167) by an innings and 94 runs

Hampshire beat the rain by skittling Warwickshire out for 167 to go top of the Specsavers County Championship Division One table.

Right-armer Kyle Abbott and spinners Mason Crane and Sean Ervine whipped through the struggling visitors to pull off victory by an innings and 94 runs, with dark clouds circling at the Ageas Bowl.

Ian Bell reached his 99th firstclass fifty, and looked the only player at home on a tricky wicket, before he was bowled by Abbott for 68.

Bell’s fellow former England batsman, Jonathan Trott, who had batted all but 13 balls on day three, departed for 23 soon after as Crane found turn and bounce to find his outside edge, giving a simple catch for Ervine at first slip.

Abbott’s golden arm then pinned Sam Hain lbw for 14, the umpire noticing that the ball had just struck bat before pad, before the South African had Rikki Clarke leg before to a ball which failed to get up. Gareth Berg replaced Abbott at the Pavilion End and had his own success in his second over when he trapped Tim Ambrose (five) lbw – leaving Warwickshire in dire straits at 131 for seven.

The only blip on an otherwise perfect morning for Hampshire was Jimmy Adams’s drop at second slip, which gave Keith Barker an extra life.

After the interval, Crane pulled off a sensational googly, which kept very low, to baffle Grant Thornton (nine) and wrap him on the pads.

Then the rain arrived and frustrated the hosts by forcing the players off for 20 minutes.

But when Hampshire came back on to the pitch they took little time in rolling through the tail.

Boyd Rankin (four) was bowled when leaving an Ervine straight ball, before the Zimbabwean finished things off neatly by pinning Sukhjit Singh lbw for nought.

The triumph means Hampshire move 14 points clear of Essex at the top of the table, having played a game more.

The win was their third of the season, with Warwickshire taking three bonus points from the match to remain second from bottom in the table.