LV COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, Edgbaston: CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY TWO: Hampshire 283 & 3-0, Warwickshire 382 Warwicks 7 pts, Hants 5 pts Match scorecard
 Chris Woakes' only previous ton also came against Hampshire, in July 2009 |
Chris Woakes made Hampshire suffer for the second time in less than a year as Warwickshire turned a crisis unto unexpected profit at Edgbaston. Having posted a maiden century with 131 not out at the Rose Bowl last July, the England Lions seam bowler hit another ton (136no) to lead the Bears' rescue. Woakes' latest career-best helped the home side recover from trouble at 98-7. Backed by Neil Carter (62), Tim Ambrose (54) and Imran Tahir (40), the Bears made 382, Hampshire replying on 3-0. In leading Warwickshire to a first innings lead of 99, that represented a huge shift from a dire position on the second morning when the home side lost four wickets for five runs in subsiding to 98-7 - still 185 short of Hampshire's 283. But the last three partnerships yielded 284 as Ambrose, Carter, with the 11th Championship half-century of a career spent in the county's lower order, and Hampshire old boy Tahir helped Woakes turn things round. When Warwickshire were finally prised out for 382, he had hit two sixes and 17 fours in his unbeaten 136 from 200 balls. For Hampshire it was a desperate turnaround after the early damage done by David Griffiths and former Warwickshire second teamer Kabir Ali, who took two wickets in four balls in the third over after the home side resumed on their overnight 45-1. Late movement accounted for Darren Maddy before England's Jonathan Trott registered his fourth single-figure score in five innings when he attempted to play through mid-wicket but deflected the ball to second slip for a third ball duck. Ian Bell (17) and Rikki Clarke, both trying to force the pace, followed in successive overs from Griffiths and, after a brief lull, Kabir then cut through Jim Troughton's defence with a swinging, full-length delivery. Hampshire may have thought their job was almost done when Ant Botha was seventh out. Instead, Woakes and the Warwickshire tail took over. And the only good news for the visitors was that their openers, Michael Carberry and Jimmy Adams, successfully negotiated three overs, chopping three runs off the deficit, before bad light ended play for the day.
BBC Sport's Clive Eakin assesses the day's play at Edgbaston: "Bears supporters often ask 'Where are the Warwickshire runs going to come from when Bell and Trott are gone?' "But, on a day when the England pair couldn't manage a run between them, it was the lower order who turned the game round after lunch. "Hampshire's bowlers must be wondering why Warwickshire's number nine Chris Woakes isn't opening the batting for England after two successive centuries against them. "And Neil Carter can do nothing wrong. He's already surpassed last season's tally of wickets. Now it looks as though he's learnt how to bat against spinners judging from the shots he played off the young, talented Danny Briggs."
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