Hampshire's Jimmy Adams hits century against Essex

LV= COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Chelmsford:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY TWO: Essex 343 v Hampshire 233-5
Essex 4pts, Hampshire 4pts
Match scorecard

Adams reached his eighth first-class century off 214 balls

Opener Jimmy Adams's unbeaten century helped Hampshire recover to 234-5 on the second day of their Championship game against Essex at Chelmsford.

The host county collapsed from 327-7 overnight to 345 all out as young pace bowler David Griffiths took 5-85 - his maiden first-class five-wicket haul.

In reply, Hampshire lost recent England debutant Michael Carberry for three.

But Adams added 105 with Neil McKenzie, who made 39 on his Hampshire debut, and was undefeated on 113 at the close.

Adams batted with great determination and concentration throughout, surviving a few anxious moments against the new ball early on but remaining generally unruffled as he provided the backbone of the innings.

He picked up 15 boundaries in his effort spanning 245 balls, and the docile nature of the pitch suggested he would continue to be a thorn in the side of the Essex bowlers on Sunday.

After occasional off-spinner Tom Westley had finally removed McKenzie for 39, thanks to a fine catch by David Masters who clung on to a fierce pull at midwicket, Chris Benham (21) added further valuable runs with Adams.

Finally, a diving catch by wicketkeeper James Foster provided Maurice Chambers with success, and Nic Pothas made just nine before edging Ryan ten Doeschate to Tim Phillips.

Not named in the Essex starting XI, Phillips was substituting for Matt Walker (pulled thigh muscle) in the slips.

Essex bowler David Masters told BBC Essex:
"I thought all the bowlers bowled well today, they've not got away from us.

"Jimmy Adams has played very, very well today but he could have been out at any point.

"We've beaten the bat and gone past the edge quite a lot today, so we're quite pleased."