BASINGSTOKE

(day two of four; Durham won toss)

Hampshire, with five second innings wickets in hand, need 133 to beat Durham

Lunch

Mark Davies remained as unplayable on the second morning as he had been on the first evening, hitting the middle stump twice and the off stump once to finish with career best figures of eight for 24 and complete the demolition of a hapless Hampshire batting order for 96. Dimitri Mascerenhas swung the bat effectively for five fours and refused other runs to try to farm the strike but Davies had the final triumph when he hit across the line. This was fine, vigorous seam bowling by a bowler who must now be certain of a place with the England Lions at Loughborough this winter. He would have been a far better pick than Darren Pattinson at Headingley this year.

A first innings lead of 60 on a pitch as helpful to bowlers of all types as this one is a big advantage to concede and Hampshire bowled a second time as if they knew it, despite two lbws for the sturdy and admirably consistent James Tomlinson. His left-arm over bowling has been reliable all season and his wickets this morning were his 55th and 56th of the season. For the second day running he accounted for Michael Di Venuto for a duck with the sixth ball he bowled- his 100th wicket for Hampshire- but Will Smith again showed a tight technique in countering the seam movement before following in the eleventh over, forward but not far enough.

Mark Stoneman followed when the total was 40, caught in the gully off bat and pad but Dale Benkenstein and Shivnarane Chanderpaul, the key perhaps to setting a total that would be beyond Hampshire even in the promised sunshine tomorrow, used all their experience and took Durham to lunch without alarms and with a lead of 140.

Tea

Durham could be further on the way to the county Championship title by the close this evening if Mark Davies and their other hungry seamers can do their job on a pitch still seaming around too awkwardly, it seems, for Hampshire to have more than an outside chance of making 241 to win. Without the injured John Crawley and Michael Brown it would be a remarkable effort if they were to make the highest total of the match by far.

The hoped-for sunshine has not come to the batsmen's rescue yet and Hampshire took seven balls fewer to bowl Durham out in the second innings than they had in the first. Imran Tahir bowled unchanged after lunch for figures of four for 53 and seven for 58 in the match, not a bad effort on a pitch made for seam-hitters. He turns the ball and constantly varies his wrist angle. It was James Tomlinson at the other end, however, who added to his laurels this season with another five wicket analysis which takes his haul for his first full season to 59.

Tahir broke the Benkenstein/Chanderpaul partnership when the captain hit a return catch off the back foot but Tomlinson got the vital wicket by inducing an outside edge from Chanderpaul to first slip with a ball that left him off the pitch and bounced a bit too. Paul Wiseman and Graham Onions, playing positively but not wildly, added 47 for the ninth wicket, helped by a missed chance at first slip off Tomlinson when Wiseman had made only seven.

Close

Hampshire had little luck, especially in the way of leg before decisions as their more resolute second innings batting performance still finished in what looks like the hopess staging point of 108 for five, the goal of 241 to win and avoid relegation looking distant despite some stout and skilful left-handed batting by Sean Ervine and the promise of his overnight partner, Liam Dawson. Helped by the belated arrival of some sunshine they held the fort for the last six overs but fresh bowlers ought to finish the job for Durham tomorrow.

Callum Thorp was the main wicket-taker this time, pitching the new ball up and getting his rewards from movement off the seam but two of Hampshire's left-handers, Michael Carberry and Michael Lumb, departed crestfallen, one disputing a fine, very low diving catch by Phil Mustard, the other what looked like a high lbw.

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