Notts turn up heat on Hampshire

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, The Rose Bowl
Hampshire v Nottinghamshire
11-14 June (1100-1800 BST)
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY THREE: Nottinghamshire 326 & 380-6 v Hampshire 295 & 9-1 (Notts 6pts, Hants 5pts)

Hampshire v Nottinghamshire scorecard

Read was in imperious form, hitting 17 fours and a six

Chris Read and Ali Brown scored tons as Division One leaders Nottinghamshire set Hampshire 412 to win.

Having bowled Hampshire out for 295, Notts were struggling at 47-4 in their second innings but Brown (148) and Adam Voges (49) settled the nerves.

And skipper Read (116no) then shared a chanceless sixth-wicket stand with Brown that saw Notts declare on 380-6.

Hampshire finished on 9-1 at the close, losing James Adams (6), who was caught by Read off Darren Pattinson.

The departure of Adams in the final three overs of the day was a particular blow to the home side who still need an improbable 403 on the last day to win.

Notts started the day well, Mark Ealham taking the final Hampshire wicket for the addition of just eight runs to give them a first-innings lead of 31.

But the game was still in the balance when Hampshire fought back and had Notts struggling on 47-4 with James Tomlinson taking three wickets in a devastating spell.

Brown was joined at the crease by Voges and the pair shared a stand of 110 runs to get Notts back on track.

Brown's ton was his first for his new county after 17 seasons at Surrey and played a huge part in taking the match out of Hampshire's reach.

Their cause was not helped by the non-appearance of Sean Ervine who was nursing a hamstring injury or by the loss in mid-over of Tomlinson with a foot injury.

Brown and Voges took the score to 157 before the Australian was out lbw to David Griffiths just one short of his half-century.

But there was to be no respite for the home crowd as Read smashed 17 fours in his unbeaten ton and the pair both reached their hundreds in fine style.

Brown was eventually out to the occasional bowling of Michael Carberry and the visitors declared on 380-6 soon after, leaving Hampshire to negotiate a tricky 18-ball spell at the end.