Overton too good as ‘poor’ Hampshire lose by an innings
HAMPSHIRE manager Adrian Birrell admitted his side were “outplayed” after Jamie Overton took his first five-wicket haul for Surrey and then added three further secondinnings wickets as Hampshire were routed by an innings and 17 runs inside three days at the Oval.
Jordan Clark’s 4-55 completed his own fine match with the ball in Surrey’s first win of the County Championship season, while rookie seamer James Taylor also impressed with 3-56 as Hampshire slid to 227 all out second time around after being dismissed for 223 in their first innings and being asked to follow on.
Former Somerset fast bowler Overton, who joined Surrey late in the 2020 season, more than made up for the absence of West Indies quick Kemar Roach – who suffered a hamstring injury on day two – by grabbing the mantle of attack spearhead with match figures of eight for 107.
Birrell said: “We were outplayed in this game right from the start. They got an above par score in their first innings, we were then under pressure and it showed.
“We didn’t play very well. On the first day we didn’t bowl as well as we should have done on that pitch and they got 100 runs too many even though we pegged them back quite well on day two.
“Then, with the bat, we didn’t get partnerships going and we just kept losing wickets too regularly.”
Hampshire, who began the third day still 315 runs adrift at 152-7, kept their first innings alive for just over an hour before Overton finished it off with a dramatic burst of three wickets in four balls to claim 5- 54.
Overton then added another three for 53 and, although opener Joe Weatherley made a composed 87 and James Vince 57, Hampshire were dismissed with 15.2 day-three overs remaining.
Clark clean bowled both James Fuller, for 12, and Kyle Abbott, whose third-ball zero was his second duck of the day, in the same over and soon afterwards wrapped things up by having last man Mohammad Abbas caught at second slip for no runs. Ben Brown was left 30no.
Weatherley and Vince added exactly 100 for the third wicket but Overton parted them, and then Taylor struck a significant blow by having Vince caught down the legside by keeper Ben Foakes seven balls before tea.
In the final session Overton, with his short ball a real weapon on an easy-paced surface, had Felix Organ acrobatically caught by Will Jacks at gully for five and Taylor quickly followed that by having Keith Barker leg-before for five as Hampshire’s last real resistance was broken.
For much of the day’s opening hour, though, it looked like being tough going for Surrey with Fuller being badly dropped on 15 by Ollie Pope at second slip off Clark in the day’s second full over. Fuller and Barker then played with great freedom to take their eighth-wicket partnership, on 20 overnight, to 90 in just 17 overs before Overton produced his dramatic triple-strike.
Barker, who had hit Jacks’ off spin straight for successive sixes to complete his half-century in some style, initially drove Overton powerfully past mid-off for four. But he was then undone by a vicious lifter which he could only edge through to Foakes as he tried to fend it off from in front of his face.
Overton’s first ball to Abbott, the new batsman, was an even nastier bouncer which the tailender did well to avoid.
The next, the last ball of the over, was fended meekly to short leg as Abbott departed for a duck.
Fuller, who had also greeted Overton’s introduction by uppercutting and then off-driving him for boundaries, was yorked by the first ball of Overton’s next over. He had made 41 from 48 balls, with six fours, while Barker’s equally punchy 57 took him only 68 balls, with two sixes and nine fours.
Hampshire, in again, were 46-2 by lunch as Taylor had Ian Holland well held on eight by Pope at second slip and Nick Gubbins (six) edged to Foakes a back foot defensive push at seamer Clark, who was operating around the wicket to the left-hander.
Weatherley, however, looked in good touch as he and Hampshire captain Vince frustrated Surrey’s bowlers, the pair also scoring at more than five runs an over. There was one top-edged pull at Clark, which looped away for two, but otherwise Weatherley was untroubled and it again took Overton to make an important breakthrough.
Overton first struck Weatherley under the chin with his first ball back and, after being square cut beautifully for four following a short delay for concussion protocols, the tall paceman made another ball lift steeply to take the shoulder of the bat and fly high for Foakes to pull off a spectacular leaping catch away to his right.
Weatherley’s fine two-hour effort had come from 96 balls, including a hooked six off Clark and nine fours, and Overton was soon celebrating once more when Liam Dawson, on three, lifted a pull to long leg where Ryan Patel pulled off a good running catch.
Surrey earn 22 points from their win, with Hampshire’s two points a bitter disappointment for them after an innings victory against Somerset in last week’s opener.
Surrey head coach Gareth Batty said: “It’s very pleasing because although it’s still April and early days we have just beaten the team who were on top of Division One after the first week and we played some great cricket throughout the game. It is very satisfying.
“What we saw from Jamie Overton in this match, especially in their first innings, was very special. His bowling was really electric and he’s one of those who has put in some serious work during the winter. He made some small technical changes and it’s exciting to see him bowl like that in his first championship game this season.
“James Taylor also performed brilliantly for a 21-year-old and it is particularly good for all the players who have worked extremely hard over the winter months, preparing for this season, to begin to see the fruits of that work.
“We have a very tight group here, a lot of boys who have come through our system and, with Kemar Roach getting injured early in Hampshire’s first innings, the four main bowlers who were left really stuck to their task throughout the last two days.
“There are a lot of sore bodies in the dressing room but it’s good to show everyone we can win tough. Then again, it’s early days so we won’t get carried away.”