Aided by excellent slip catching, Hampshire kept their promotion hopes alive by bowling Essex out cheaply on a helpful surface on day one at West End

Ivo Tennant at West End04-Sep-2012
ScorecardDavid Balcombe, seen here last year when on loan at Kent, took four wickets as Essex were bowled out cheaply at West End•PA PhotosIn the 1970s and 1980s, Ron Allsopp, the skilled head groundsman atTrent Bridge, would leave a thick coating of grass on the pitches hecut, specifically for Richard Hadlee and Clive Rice to exploit. This worked to good effect, not least through continuallywinning the toss. That same good fortune is being enjoyed now by JimmyAdams and Hampshire’s seamers, who, with considerable assistance fromtheir slip fielders, dismissed Essex for 180.This is not to say that the pitches cut by Nigel Gray here areanything like as difficult to bat on as was the case by the Trent inthe past. The bounce is even and there is good carry. Yet it is fair to saythat run-making was rather more straightforward when the one dayinternational was staged here a week ago than it was now. Every Essexbatsman fell through a catch in the slips or behind the wicket, withthe exception of one tail-ender who was bowled. There was considerablemovement.Gray is no less skilled than Alsopp and his pitches play better thelonger the match continues. The drawback in all this is not so muchthat the side winning the toss is more likely to win the match, butthat there is little scope for spin. Danny Briggs, unavailable becausehe is with England’s one-day party, would probably not have been picked,anyway. That has been the situation for most of the season.Essex, facing an attack in which David Griffiths was preferred toKabir Ali and Chris Wood, were five wickets down by lunch. The slipcatching was extremely sharp. As Neil McKenzie has returned to SouthAfrica, no longer required now that Michael Carberry is fit, Adamshimself has gone to first slip. He accounted for Tom Westley and Ryanten Doeschate; Liam Dawson is perhaps the best second slip in thecountry, and James Vince is pretty competent alongside him. They alsotook two catches each. Add Sean Ervine in the gully and this is a finecordon.Some of the shot selection was unnecessary. Rather like late cuttingbefore May is out, cover driving before lunch made for extravagance.Jaik Mickleburgh and Owais Shah both were out in that way, to DavidBalcombe, who finished with four wickets, and James Tomlinsonrespectively. Adam Wheater was neatly held by Michael Bates behind thewicket.Mark Pettini was the sole batsman to flourish, reaching 58 with eightfours before he, too, fell to a slip catch. Tom Craddock played on toErvine after lunch and Maurice Chambers soon edged to Bates. ForGriffiths, playing his first Championship match since May, there werethree wickets. The question now was whether Hampshire, who have to winthis match to have a chance of promotion, could bat any better againsta similarly pace-dominated attack.To a fair extent they did. Adams swung at a short ball from Chambersand sent up a catch to square leg, but Carberry, so powerful in hishitting in the CB40 semi-final at Hove last weekend, made 42 witheight fours and Bilal Shafayat, who is far from in form, looked justabout in touch towards the end of the day.