By Huzaifa Yousafzai from Utilita Bowl
In the first innings of Hampshire hosting Worcestershire at the Utilita Bowl, the home side ended on 462 all out with both Liam Dawson and Nick Gubbins scoring big.
Having just matched his highest first class score of 201 not out, Nick Gubbins has flourished on the south coast by averaging 41 since signing from Middlesex in 2021.
“I have made a bit of a habit of getting out after making a hundred which is not something we pride ourselves on in the side,” said Gubbins whilst speaking to the press at the end of the first day’s play.
“It’s all about getting 150’s and really setting the game up for the team so I’m really pleased I managed to do that today. I got a bit of luck along on the way which is probably what you need from time to time.”
Alongside Gubbins, Hampshire academy product Liam Dawson also scored a hundred with the pair combining to make a 220 run partnership for the fifth wicket.
“Daws (Liam Dawson) came in and we got a partnership going with the old ball which made it a lot easier. The right and left hand combination was especially good because there’s nothing worse as a fielder when you have to keep on changing position, and we kept that going all day long.”
Hampshire’s captain James Vince also scored a half-century but caused some confusion when he was dismissed as it was unclear whether the ball had actually glanced the leg stump or not despite the bail falling off.
“Vincey (James Vince) was unlucky and I’m not really sure what happened there with his dismissal. I didn’t think it was out at the time and it’s also quite hard to see on the video but in the end, he played really well.”
With a big first innings total on the board, Hampshire will look to try and maximise all the bonus points alongside forcing a big victory with favourable results elsewhere possibly bringing them back into the title race.
“We managed to wear them down and play nice and positively in the evening session because we know that bonus points are really key for us. If we’re going to chase down Surrey and Somerset and do something special, we’re going to need every single point we can get. We will see how the morning goes but whether we bat once or twice we’re going to try to move the game on and get a result.”
Hampshire have a clear plan when it comes to winning the game as the dry sunny conditions is set to favour their bowling attack on a tired pitch at the end of the season.
“I fully expect our two gun spinners Daws (Liam Dawson) and Fee (Felix Organ) to get more out of the pitch than (Worcestershire) as it’s dry enough and there’s going to be four days of sun on it. Dawson has bowled as well as anyone in the country in the spin department and Felix (Organ) is having a really good season with the ball whenever he plays with us. So I expect it to turn, and you add scoreboard pressure, and it becomes a very different ball game.”
Despite the amount of turn on offer, Gubbins was surprised that Worcestershire were not able to extract consistent movement from the pitch sighting fitness as a possible issue.
“We expected it to turn and there were some really good balls in there however, I expected some more consistent turn. I’m not sure how many overs Amar Virdi has been bowling but it felt as if the energy just lessened as the day went on so maybe that’s why there was less consistency in the amount of spin.”
