Hampshire and Essex set for tense final day

COUNTY CHAMPIONSHIP DIVISION ONE, The Rose Bowl:
CLOSE OF PLAY, DAY THREE: Hampshire 300 & 235-6, Essex 284
Hants 6pts, Essex 5pts
Match scorecard

Jimmy Adams hit seven fours and a six in his 121-ball 56

Essex took late wickets on day three to haul themselves back into contention and set up a tense final day with Hampshire at The Rose Bowl.

Resuming on 209-7, Essex moved to 284 all out - a deficit of 16 - with Matt Walker falling one short of a century.

Jimmy Adams (56), Michael Lumb (35) and Michael Carberry (35) then looked to have put Hampshire in charge at 115-1.

But the hosts lost five wickets for 74 runs to close on 235-6, a lead of 251, to leave all four results possible.

Walker and Graham Napier (35) had extended their eighth-wicket partnership to 76 when Napier, who had been dropped by Carberry off the second ball of the day, edged David Balcombe to James Vince at first slip.

Danish Kaneria followed soon after before Walker, who survived a run out attempt when James Tomlinson palmed the ball onto the stumps at the non-strikers' end, became the last man out by carving Balcome to Carberry at point.

With the home side looking to build on their slender lead, an opening stand of 62 between Adams and Carberry was ended when the latter presented a bat-pad catch to Walker off the bowling of Ravi Bopara.

Lumb joined Adams to continue to strengthen the Hampshire position only for Adams to be adjudged lbw to a Ryan ten Doeschate delivery that appeared to be heading down the leg side.

A Hampshire wobble followed until Nic Pothas and Dominic Cork guided them to the close with an unbroken seventh-wicket stand of 46, but Essex had already done enough to set up an intriguing final day.