Brave Hants Lose Despite Bates' Best

Michael Bates scored 87 from 149 balls, including 11 fours

Match report from day four of Hampshire's LV= County Championship match against Gloucestershire at The Ageas Bowl

Hampshire v GLOUCESTERSHIRE
LV= County Championship
Day FOUR: Sunday 15 ApRIL 2012
The AGEAS Bowl

Summary: Gloucestershire beat Hampshire by 33 runs
Gloucestershire: 314 & 174
Hampshire: 199 & 256
Full Scorecard
Table

Hampshire Team
Adams*, Dawson, Carberry, Katich, Vince, Ervine, Bates⁺, Riazuddin, Briggs, Wood, Balcombe

Gloucestershire Team
Dent, Coughtrie⁺, Housego, A Gidman, Marshall, Cockbain, W Gidman, Young, Fuller, Payne, Saxelby

Career-best Championship knocks of 87 from wicketkeeper, Michael Bates and 65 from seamer, Chris Wood typified Hampshire's fighting spirit, but couldn't stop them from falling just short in this opening LV= County Championship match of the season against Gloucestershire at The Ageas Bowl.

Having wasted little time bowling their visitors out for 174 in the morning of day four (David Balcombe 3-48, Hamza Riazuddin 3-51), Jimmy Adams' side had a difficult - but not unassailable - target of 290 runs to chase down in 80 overs.

Nevertheless, the task looked impossible to many when, at 72-6, Bates and Wood (65) came together at the crease.

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Click on the image above to see highlights of this day's play

But the pair battled hard, putting on a seventh-wicket partnership of 118 over the course of 30 overs to give their team hope. And even when Wood (65) was caught off the bowling of David Payne, Bates - bouyed by having equalled a ground record for the number of catches in an innings on day two - continued to fight.

Another partnership of 56 with Riazuddin (28) took Hampshire to the brink of an incredible victory but, when both men were bowled by Will Gidman (4-66) in the same over, the game was up for the hosts.

In the end, Hampshire were bowled out for 256 - 33 runs short of their target with just two overs to go. But who knows what might have happened had Gidman not enjoyed such an important 75th over?

Hampshire take three bonus points from the match going into their next fixture - a trip to Glamorgan starting on Thursday.

Words: Simon Vincent
Images: LMI Photography

Catch Up

Preview:	Katich and Briggs in Gloucestershire Squad
Day One:	Balcombe Brace Gets Hampshire Up and Running
Day Two:	Balcombe Breaks Records as Kat Battles with the Bat
Day Three:	Hampshire Bowl Their Way Back Into the Match