Honours even in Southampton despite Warwickshire’s best efforts

Warwickshire 455 (Dawson 5-146) and 205 for 4 (Yates 84*, Dawson 2-72) drew with Hampshire 365 (Gubbins 119, Middleton 116)

Rob Yates made sure all of Warwickshire’s top three average over 100 after the first three Vitality County Championship fixtures – but his unbeaten 84 couldn’t prevent an inevitable draw with Hampshire.

Yates, opening partner Alex Davies and No.3 Will Rhodes are three of the top four run scorers in Division One so far this season with averages of 123, 120, and 116. All three attempted to up the run-rate in a bid to force a result at Utilita Bowl but eventually rain won the day and the points were shared.

Warwickshire pick up 13 points to Hampshire’s 10 – with neither side yet to win or lose a game after three rounds. The visitors began the day with a 136-run lead but had a positive approach to trying to win, even if the odds, and in this case pitch, seemed stacked against them.

Davies was dropped at gully after adding one to his overnight score, and only added a single before advancing to Mohammad Abbas and skewing to short third to end a 56-run opening stand. He now has 481 runs this season and sits top of the charts.

Yates was tasked to keep the scoreboard ticking, while the proper aggression came from the other end, with Rhodes, Ed Barnard and Dan Mousley not needing a second invitation to attack. Boundaries remained tricky to consistently score but Warwickshire particularly impressed with their running between the wickets, which added runs consistently at over four runs an over.

Rhodes is up to 348 runs in the Championship but his 25 off 39 was ended when he was leg-before to a delivery which turned from Liam Dawson. The degree of spin would have excited Warwickshire, and their spinners Danny Briggs and Yates, as they started to plot the perfect time to pull out and put some pressure on the hosts.

The Yates and Rhodes alliance had brought 46 runs and Yates continued with Barnard in a similar vein – with a 54 run stand, as Yates picked up his half-century in 84 balls with a delicious cut to the boundary.

Barnard fell for a 17-ball 18 when he skied Dawson, with the left-arm spinner settling underneath it himself. Mousley picked out mid on after a quick-fire 14 before the drizzle that had come down throughout the morning got slightly heavier after lunch and saw play stopped at 2pm.

It proved terminal, as hands were shaken two hours later, with Hampshire at the foot of the table and Yates left unbeaten after his third 50-plus score of the season.

County Championship Division One